Another Shot at Love
by Weirdo.Blabber
Summary: sequel to INVISIBLE: Natsu breaks up with Lucy: to be with Lisanna. What will happen to Lucy now? Will there be ANYONE to be her knight in shining armor?
1. Break Up

**WRITER'S BLOCK (?): **Yaay! **SEQUEL!**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I _do _own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**NOTE: **And since i _**can't seem**_ to make a new story, i'll just post it in this old one... DARN! once we figure out a way to fix it, i'll repost the chapters in a new story..' until then, please bear with me XD

also, thanks to **FAIRYTAILPIRATE** for helping me out with the update thingy... it's so nice to have people like you around these places. :) (you're like an anel sent from above to help me out, just so you know...)

* * *

**-CHAPTER ONE: BREAK-UP**-  
_"At least, in her dreams, she was safe."_

Many times for the past three months, Lucy Heartfilia's heart beat fast for Natsu Dragneel, her boyfriend. Usually, they would be his sweet gestures, his hugs and few kisses they've shared and even the laughter they've had together that makes it _lup_ and _dup_.

Of course, Lucy wouldn't have it any other way. Natsu was the only person who she'd want to be with. The moments they've made together all went back to the Stellar Spirit mage in one go. She wanted to experience them once more, but she knew better; she knew they would _never _happen again in _this_ lifetime.

Lucy closed her eyes as Natsu stared at her. Like all those times, Natsu made her heart rap in her chest. But it marred Lucy that the beating was squeezed her chest _so_ much that it hurt.

"And so, I'm really sorry, Lucy…" Natsu said in a stern voice.

_No, I don't want to hear this!_ Lucy put covered her ears with both hands.

She saw this coming, Lucy did. It all started two months ago on her and Natsu's first month together. Lisanna had just come back from a long mission when she confessed to Natsu. Although the dragon slayer had rejected her, Lisanna was still hopeful. She kept on giving Natsu affection and love, whilst knowing that he was Lucy's. But she didn't mind it (though she gets jealous and insecure sometimes) because she was confident of Natsu's love for her. Too bad it wasn't enough for him to stay faithful.

Just now, Natsu wanted Lucy to give him his freedom back. She wouldn't mind a cool-off, it's just that he wanted her to give him _complete freedom_ so that he could be with _Lisanna_; talk about adding insult to injury!

"Luce…"

_What irony, though._ Lucy thought. _I was the one who told Lisanna how to catch a guy's heart and it backfired on me!_

With this, Lucy began to giggle, and the giggle turned into laughter.

"Oi, Lucy…" Natsu said. _How, weird!_ He thought. But Lucy continued to laugh.

_Okay, let's get this over with!_ Lucy patted Natsu's arm with one hand and wiped her tears with the other.

"It's okay, Natsu." _Don't cry, don't cry!_ "It's okay! I'm setting you free." She said this as if she was trying to convince _herself _and _not_ Natsu.

With the last of Lucy's strength to smile, she hugged the Salamander while keeping herself from crying again.

"I'm really happy that you've found Lisanna. Please make sure that she's _the one_ and don't hurt her, okay?"

Lucy sniffed. She had to get out of here and cry her heart out. "Well, I'm off!"

"Lucy…" she turned upon hearing her name. "Thank you."

Natsu smiled warmly. Lucy smiled back, or so she thought. After turning her back on Natsu, she ran as fast as she can to wherever her legs could take her. The afternoon was cold and gloomy, and the rain was quite strong but Lucy just wanted to run and run until she passes out.

Panting, she stopped in a dark alley. She couldn't feel her legs and before she knew it, she was lying on the cold, hard ground with the heavy rain falling on her.

"_Waaaah!"_ Lucy screamed, crying. She didn't care if her voice would be used up, she just wanted to release all of her sadness and all of her anxiety. "_WHY? WHY ME? WHAT KIND OF TEST IS THIS, MOTHER?"_

The girl continued to sob at the predicament she was facing.

_Somebody,_ she thought, _somebody please tell me—What have I done to deserve this? It hurts. My heart hurts. But I have to let him go because he deserves to be happy…_ Lucy wailed again.

"_EVEN IF IT'S NOT WITH M—!" _Lucy's voice failed her. It wasn't was coming out. She figured it was useless to scream, so Lucy just sobbed. Feeling tired, extremely heartbroken and betrayed, she was thinking of wanting to die then and there.

"Lucy, is that you?" said a blurry voice that Lucy couldn't recognize as a familiar. She looked up to see who it was but her eyesight was also dim. "What happened, Lucy?"

This person, that Lucy distinguished him as a man, held her in his arm—the warmest feeling Lucy had felt since Natsu. She could hear his heartbeat as she rested her head on the man's chest. And with this, her tears escaped her again.

"Who are you?" she croaked with the little voice she had left.

"Huh? Damn, are you sick?" Nothing. Lucy still couldn't recognize his voice. "Geez… I'm—"

The blurry voice disappeared. So did Lucy's vision and sense of touch. She knew then that she was unconscious.

_Good._ she thought.

Sleep. Yes, Lucy just wanted a long sleep. At least in her sleep, she couldn't see, hear or feel anything. At least, in her dreams, she was safe.

* * *

poor Lucy :'(

this is the reason why I don't like Lisanna _at all_.

But who could this mystery guy be?


	2. If Only

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I _do _own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWO: IF ONLY**-  
_"But all of those weren't even close to being the most painful part…"_

He had remembered when he eavesdropped on the two girls' conversation. He remembered the blond squealing like a sissy schoolgirl at the thought of her first date. But instead of being jealous, he supported her. If only he had told her then, would it be the same?

When Natsu asked him to escort her, he gladly accepted (although the Salamander had run off before he could say 'yes'). He reached her house on a "rented" motorcycle and very carefully snuck inside to give her a surprise; and he didn't fail. She was still had her "you're trespassing" kind of look but that wasn't what made him fidgety: it was the fact that she looked extremely stunning (a word which he didn't find strong enough to describe her glorious beauty that night). He needed to act casual so he feigned a calm composure and led her out the door. If only he stopped her from going on that date, would things have changed?

The full six minutes, twenty-seven second duration of their motorcycle hell ride (yes, he counted) had been the best he's experienced yet. He purposely drove like a madman in the night so that she would tighten her grip on his waist—which seemed to work. If only he'd taken her someplace else, would she allow him to be her date?

And then when she didn't show up at the guild for a few days, he volunteered himself to check up on her. If only he didn't, he wouldn't hear her ask about Natsu, what a lucky flame freak!

Then, a few weeks later, when Natsu had forgotten all about his and the girl's monthsary, he had to teach him a trick he'd been saving all his life—a kiss (so yes, he has never been _touched_, never been _kissed_). He did this because a) the dork looked extremely _hopeless_ and b) he couldn't bear to watch the blonde get depressed and risk her _not_ going to the guild for another century or so. Later on that afternoon, Natsu declared in front of everyone that she was _his_ and _his_ alone. The black-haired mage remembered how many vodka bottles he had glugged with Juvia that night and how he _almost _(note, almost) had a one-night-stand with her. If only he didn't say the other girl's name instead of Juvia, he'd probably made the biggest and grandest mistake of his life (much to Juvia's dismay).

But all of those weren't even close to being the most painful part—no, no, no, _no_! It was spending every single day seeing those two together saying _what if's_ in his head and cursing every single night he wanted her—but couldn't have her.

The boy sighed, rubbing his temples. He laid his head back on the chair while remembering those heart-aches. _The rain still hadn't stopped since last night and it was nearly twilight,_ he thought while looking at a certain stellar spirit mage who lay on his bed.

This seemed to be a perfect way to take advantage of Lucy—but he couldn't. Why? Because even if he loved her so _damned much_, he didn't want to force her into something one-sided. Yes, it hurt, but patience has always been a Gray Fullbuster virtue.

So now, like a coward, he was watching the girl jerk once in a while; laid on his bed, burning with fever.

"Mmmm…" Lucy's discomfort can be heard in her groaning.

_Should I be turned on?_ Gray thought, but knew better.

"Mh… M—utsu…" _What did she say?_

"Mh—Natsu…" _Oh…_

"Lucy…." Gray said sternly.

Lucy opened her eyes slowly. "Who—are you?" she croaked. "Natsu?"

_Damn_. "No, it's me, Gray." He replied without moving from his seat.

"Gray?" he nodded coolly.

He didn't know why but Lucy suddenly sobbed, which turned to crying, then wailing. Lucy sat up, cupping her head in her delicate hands.

_What a melodramatic girl!_ Gray thought as he rubbed circles on Lucy's back with one hand.

"Oh, _Gray!_" It was then that Lucy hugged Gray, who was conveniently close, by the waist. Her damp face rubbing against his well-toned abdomen.

"What happened?" he said monotonously. "Tell me everything."

Outside, the rain continued to pour. It didn't seem like the sky would stop crying soon, and so would Lucy.

_If only you'd seen me, Lucy._ Gray thought as he listened to Lucy's muffled sentences. _You wouldn't be crying now_.

* * *

YAAAAAAAAAY! So it was Gray after all!

Everyone who knew it was him, say "Aye!"

**_"AYE!"_**


	3. I'm Not Okay

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I _do _own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**MY RAMBLING: **Tomorrow (April 1, 2011) is my high school graduation. Yaay! I can't wait to be declared a graduate! And FINALLY, I updated!

* * *

**-CHAPTER THREE: I'M NOT OKAY**-  
_"What an obvious lie!"_

Instead of fattening herself with frozen yogurt and indulging in more tragic novels just to drive herself out of depression, Lucy decided it best to follow Gray's advice and go on with her life.

"He_ broke up with you?" Gray asked, emphasizing on the word 'he'._

_Lucy, still slightly crying, snapped her head up at Gray. "Is it that hard to believe?"_

"_Yes." He said honestly. " I always thought _you_ were gonna break up with him!" It wasn't a joke but qith Gray's tone, Lucy giggled for the first time._

Heaven is pretty cruel to my love life, _Lucy thought while wiping her face dry._

_Gray stood u,p grabbed a blanket from the couch on the other side of the room and threw it over to Lucy._

"_Thank you" she said, wrapping the towel around her to keep herself warm._

"_Don't forget, he's not the only person in the guild. Surely, even if you hate him—"_

"_I _don't _hate him!"_

"_Don't interrupt me. Even if you hate him, you'd have to face him someday. Hating him and sulking with be waste of effort and hormones. Move on, Lucy." He said sternly._

_Move on? How could she move on? Everyday, she'd be seeing Natsu and Lisanna and she has to pretend she's okay? It's, as far as Lucy would try, impossible!_

"_Levi, Mira, Erza, master—" Gray started as he enumerated the Fairy Tail members closest to the girl "—all care for you Lucy. Of course, there's also me."_

_A smile split Lucy's dry lips open. She didn't know if it was a silly joke but Gray's words penetrated deep enough to convince her to give moving on a try._

"_You're right, Gray." Lucy said, "If it's not meant to be, why force it?"_

_Even though her head was still spinning, Lucy walked towards the door. "Thank you, Gray." She said lovingly._

"_Anytime…"_

That was yesterday morning. Now, Lucy walked to the guile with a confident smile on her face, head held high, proud (so proud) that she didn't mope around like before. Good thing Gray was there when she needed someone. She'll probably have to treat him to some cold scramble later. Keys tinkling, soles tip-tapping, hips swaying, Lucy hummed happily as she walked. There, about a few more steps north, she could see home—Fairy Tail.

As Lucy opened the door, the same friendly atmosphere welcomed her. As usual, many were still talking to her and greeting her as she walked in. Thank God she didn't cry because if she did, her eyes would be red and bulging. She giggled happily at how thing were looking up at the start of her day.

_Thank you, Gray._ She thought.

But alas! Few happy things are meant to last. At the corner of her eye, she could see Lisanna gleaming widely at Natsu, who was eating. Then and there, her chest felt heavy. What hurt more was that she was forced to wave back and fake a smile at the goo-goo-eyed couple who waved at her excitedly, as if indirectly saying, "Be miserable for we are together," with an evil laugh at the background. But she knew they had no ill intentions so there: fake Lucy smile—_Flash_!

Turning her head back so she wouldn't drool, Lucy walked to the request board.

_A job is what I need to de-stress_. Lucy thought as she looked at the tiny pieces of paper—the rewards on them, rather—one by one. For mercy's sake, she had to pay rent this month again!

She sighed. There was no way she could find a good job without risking her life, but she had to. She figured she shouldn't keep depending on other people's strengths—like Gray and Natsu's for instance. There was one job there that she thinks is interested in though: a 200 000-Jewel job of capturing thieves. If she could somehow manage to—her train of thought just stopped. A long shadow covered her.

"Lucy-chan…" said the feminine voice said empathetically.

"Mi-Mira-san!" she gulped. Mira looked as if she would cry!

The older girl grabbed Lucy by the wrist and dragged her to the same room Natsu had been in when he was hit by a tool box.

"Mira-san, are you okay? What's wrong?" Lucy asked as Mira pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry…" she sobbed.

"What?"

"I'm sorry that my sister—"

"It's okay!" she cut Mira off before she could even finish. It was painful enough that she could see them, do the have to talk about that, too? "I'm fin Mira! No harm done _at all_."

Mira pulled away. "You sure?"

Lucy nodded. "Of course!"

What an obvious lie!

* * *

Seeing how guilty Mira was because of the Lucy-Natsu break up, Lucy tried to reassure her that she was alright by helping her clean up. This would also be a good way to look at the request board without distractions (e.g. Nav, Natsu-Lisanna love-love routine).

The sun was sinking down the horizon and twilight dawned on them. Lucy was deep in thought whether to take the 200 000-Jewel job or not. Mira was wiping the counter, Gray and Cana were arm-wrestling (of course, the ice mage had stripped to his boxers) and Elfman, well, was rambling about manliness as he watch their match.

"Oi!" Gray shouted. It seems he has beaten Cana at that round and was flexing his shoulder. "Rent?"

Lucy nodded as she picked up a shirt and threw it over to him. He caught it with one hand and wore it as he walked towards her.

"Thieves?" gray said as he read the request Lucy chose. "Pretty good reward, too. Need me to help you?"

Although she swore to rely less on Gray and Natsu, she couldn't deny him of his request! "You'd do that?"

"Hm… Why not?"

Lucy gleamed. Ha! Now her rent will be paid for sure!

"Let's split it 60-40." Gray urged.

"Really? You're fine with 40%?" Lucy said. Wow! Gray sure was being a gentleman nowadays.

"The hell are you talking about? I'm taking 60%! Take it or leave it!" then again, maybe not.

* * *

After Gray had confirmed to accept the mission, he offered (was forced by Mira) to take Lucy home; so the two of them headed out of the guild by the back door to do their last errand—taking out the trash (literally).

Gray headed out to the dump and threw out a day's worth of Fairy Tail trash while Lucy stood affixed to a spot near the back door.

"Let's go, Lucy." Gray said.

But Lucy wasn't moving. It's as if she was frozen on the spot.

"Lucy?" he called.

He stared at what she was gawking at and by _God_ did it make him flush.

In a dark corner, a bit far from where Lucy stood, were Lisanna and Natsu, kissing—passionately; the kind of kiss that Natsu had never given to Lucy.

Lucy tried to hold back tears but the voice, she couldn't keep inside. "Eep!"

Natsu and Lisanna broke apart, both gasping for breath and beet red, and turned their heads quickly to where Gray and Lucy were.

Immediately, Lucy grabbed Gray's hand and squeezed it, as if it would give her strength. Gray flushed a bit more (still not recovering from the hot kissing scene) but kept composure and squeezed Lucy's hand in reflex.

"Lucy…" both men chorused.

The girl forced a sheepish laugh. "S-sorry. We were just taking out the trash when we bumped on you guys uh… Well, anyway… Please continue…" Lucy was tongue-tied for the first time in her life. She suddenly didn't know what to say!

She pulled on Gray's arm and urged him to walk fast. He took her home and God knows how awkward it was. None of them spoke, afraid that each would be insensitive to the other.

"Well…" was Lucy's way to break the ice. "That was very awkward…" she said, laughing slightly.

Gray stared at her intently, as if going into her head, invading every single thought she had and feeling every emotion she felt. "Lucy…"

"I'm okay Gray, really!" But it was no use. The tears she held back flowed out of her eyes like a fountain. Her lips quivered in loneliness, despite her smile that she faked.

She reassured herself. She repeated, "I'm okay, I'm okay!"

Gray pulled her out of nowhere and held her tightly in his arms. "I know you're not…"

And she wailed.

* * *

poor, poor Lucy!

makes me wanna cry! R&R please... tell me what you think and what i need to work on...!


	4. Again, Again

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I _do _own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER FOUR: AGAIN, AGAIN**-  
_"_Talk to me again when you feel _normal!"_

After walking in on Lisanna and Natsu, Lucy thought of nothing but relaxing. Good thing that she, Gray and a very angry Juvia set out on their mission. After taking out all her frustrations on the thieves she finally got her 30% share on the reward (since Juvia tagged along, their reward was split 40-30-30)—a whopping 66 000 jewels.

With much pleading, begging and swearing, all of the money was handed to Lucy's landlady agreed to give her a discount on her rent. So now, Lucy was contentedly walking back to her house, happy that she made her rent on time for the first time!

_Maybe I should be more frugal…_ Lucy thought as she considered eating less. Although she was petite and ate very little, things have been going out of hand lately.

She sighed. "I'm gonna be penniless for a while, huh?"

"_Aye!_"

Lucy quickly turned to the tiny voice that answered her statement.

A blue figure, not taller than Lucy's table, was eating a fish from her fruit bowl.

"Happy!" Lucy rushed to the cat and cuddled him in her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Lucy—" Happy paused to swallow the fish he had been chewing, "—I need your help." He said in the cutest voice you've ever heard.

"My help? Why? What happened?"

"Please…" he said with eyes that implored "…Natsu is—_dying_!"

Lucy was taken aback. _Him? Dying? Impossible!_ "Wh-What?"

"You'll come, won't you? Lisanna is out on a mission with Elfman and you're the only one I could ask!"

Lucy sighed. What could it be now? Surely, a lot of other people could come and check but why take her? Something smelled fishy, and it _was not_ Happy.

* * *

"Darn it, Happy! You had me worry over _nothing!_"

Lucy stomped her feet furious while pulling both of the cat's cheeks. "He's not dying! He's _lazing around!_"

"But he _is_ dying!" Happy tried to explain.

"Dying my _ass!_ The next time you make a joke like that, I'll _skin you alive!_" Lucy grumbled angrily.

"But Natsu _is_ dying! Right, Natsu?" Natsu's eyes shot open.

"Yup." He gleamed. "Dying to see _you_." He turned to Lucy who was now beet red.

"I—I have to go, Natsu…" Lucy started to walk towards the door with shaking legs and arms.

"Are you angry at—me?"

"No…" she said. She couldn't hear herself think! Her heartbeat was so loud it was _deafening_.

"You're lying…" Natsu said.

Lucy could feel the soft tip-tapping of his wooden sandals on the floor as he went toward her. They seemed to be in rhythm with her heart! When he was finally standing behind her, she couldn't find it in herself to just run off and scream. She just stood there, wide-eyed.

"Li-Lisanna…" Natsu was emitting heat at her back yet she had cold sweat.

"This is not about her, Lucy… It's about you… Are you mad at me?" he asked again.

"I said I'm not, Natsu. Why do you say th-that?" the girl tried to keep her voice from shaking but lost it in the end.

"Are you sure? We've known each other for a long time now, Luce. You're my friend and I hope you know what you mean to me."

Lucy wondered whether Natsu was possessed because he just wouldn't say something like that.

"I'm sorry…" she said weakly.

"Why? Is there something I did?"

"No… Nothing in particular… I guess I'm just—_uncomfortable_, that's all."

"You're jealous of Lisanna." It wasn't a question. It was a concrete _statement_ that shot daggers at Lucy's heart.

"N-no! That's not it!" she defended.

"You're a pretty bad liar, Lucy-chan." He said in a way that didn't seem to be his.

Lucy balled her hands to a tight fist. "I'm not lying…"

"Do you still love… me?" he paused as if looking for an appropriate word.

Natsu leaned closer and closer to Lucy.

"N-no!" _Closer. Closer. Closer._ "Go _away!_"

_Pak!_

Lucy's hand came flying and landed on the boy's face.

"You're _not_ Natsu! Talk to me again when you feel _normal!_"

_Slam!_

Lucy ran away, leaving Natsu in tears from her blow to his cheeks. He stood there, affixed to the same spot he'd been in, facing the floor.

"_Ouch…"_ he said.

"Mi-Mira…" a worried Happy said as he stared at Natsu.

_Pop!_ Natsu transformed (transformed back) to being Mira, caressing the cheek Lucy had slapped, eyes watering in pain. "Take him out of the closet, Happy."

When Happy opened a door, a very badly bruised Natsu fell onto the floor. There were magical bindings on his hand, feet and a (fireproof) piece of cloth was tied to his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Happy said.

Mira de-spelled the bindings as Happy untied the cloth.

"You heard it, right?" Mira said to a dumbfounded Natsu. "The slap meant a 'yes', I guess."

"Oi, Mira… Why are you doing this?"

"I'm just helping you realize what you did, and how you _still_ feel, somehow. You kids are too busy to figure out what you should be doing and who you should be with, so I'm helping you out." She said as she ruffled Natsu's pink hair affectionately.

"Are you saying..?" Mira nodded. "No… It's not Lucy _anymore_…Lisanna, she—"

"You can say whatever you want, Natsu. I did what I had to do so now, I guess all that's left is for you to connect the dots."

* * *

He turned.

He turned again.

He turned to his side, he lay on his back, he closed his eyes, yet he couldn't sleep.

Gray Fullbuster has been lying on his bed for about an hour now. He knew he was tired but he just couldn't sleep. He tried counting sheep, then he tried counting Natsu's but he still couldn't sleep.

_Maybe I should go out a bit?_ He thought to himself.

He stood and started to look for clothes to wear.

_Knock! Knock!_

Immediately, Gray put on his pants and opened the door just to see Lucy grinning widely at him.

"Hi, Gray!" she said.

He should be happy because she went to his house just like that but he just felt that something was wrong with her aura. That toothy grin seemed to be fake.

"What do you need?" he said bluntly, letting the girl in.

"Oh, nothing… I'm just visiting…"

"Lucy, I'm not stupid. What's wrong now?"

"You know me that well?"

He flushed. "Uh… No… It's not like that… I mean, it's quite obvious anyway…"

"You're right, I wanted someone to talk to and I found your house to be closest so I came."

"It's about Natsu, right?"

"It's like you read my mind…" she said, chuckling.

"He's just taking too much space in your mind that you don't see anyone else, you know. It's waste of time to think about him." He sat on a couch facing her and crossed his legs. "You know what you need?"

Lucy blinked. "A boyfriend?"

It was now Gray's turn to chuckle. _Yeah, good guess_. "No… Let's go on a trip Lucy; just you and me."

Oh, happy day for Lucy!

* * *

whee!


	5. Lucky

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I _do _own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**NOTE: **At last, I'm able to update! I'm really sorry because I was lazy and I'm busy with the teaching and the manga and drawing and well, pretty much everything. I hope that despite that, you'd still want to read this. Thank you! :)

* * *

**-CHAPTER FIVE: LUCK**-  
_"____Thank you, Gray_ ..."

"_Oh…_"

Lucy stared outside the window in wide-eyed amazement.

"It's so _pretty_!" she said, still not taking her eyes off the scenic view outside the window.

Gray was nice enough to take her on a free, five-day trip to a beach resort outside Magnolia, with no Natsu, no Juvia and no Fairy Tail. He, too, was the one who asked permission from the master who was more than willing to let them go (as if knowing about her conflict with the Salamander).

Feeling lucky to have him as a friend, Lucy smiled to herself and didn't notice that she was now staring at Gray who was creating few different objects with his ice magic. She gawked at him for who knows how long, wanting to thank him but couldn't get the timing to do so.

"You're drooling…" he said coolly as he made an ice rose.

"Shut up…" Lucy snapped as she wiped her mouth to check. "I'm _not_."

"Well, we're close so we'd better start packing." Gray said, pointing to the scattered clothes (mostly his) and books on the compartment floor.

Lucy nodded, and started to pick things up.

"Hey, Gray?"

"What?" he said and didn't even bother to look up since he was busy shoving clothes in his bag.

"First, where did you get the money for this _luxurious_ trip?" Lucy asked honestly.

Yes, it was luxurious: from the A-class train to the food and the lodging in the resort she'd seen from the brochure—it seemed like it was worth a lot of money.

"I don't spend much unlike _some people_…" he said, directly meaning Lucy. "And I don't have anything to spend _all that money_ on."

"Oh…" she said.

"And what was the second thing on your mind?"

"Um…" Lucy hesitated as she flushed. "Would you mind if I…"

"If you _what?_"

"Would you mind if I hug you?" _There! I said it!_

"W-What?" at this, Gray shot a really shocked (_but cute_, Lucy thought) look at her.

Lucy laughed, but went closer to Gray and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Thank you, Gray… for everything…"

She broke apart and started to pick things up again, leaving Gray flushing so bad, he was thankful she wasn't watching.

"It's nothing, really." Gray said loudly. He put one hand sheepishly behind his neck and looked at Lucy with loving eyes.

_And believe me, Luce, I could do more._

* * *

_This is it!_ Lucy thought excitedly. _This is the vacation I've always dreamt of!_

Lucy grinned, wide-eyed, at the beautiful blue ocean. She giggled at the soft sea breeze tickling her skin and the way her blond hair danced with it. She buried her feet in the warm sand as she smiled and shouted, "Thank you, Gray Fullbuster~!"

"_Shush!_" Gray said as he forcefully put a straw hat on the stellar spirit mage's head. "_That_ is really embarrassing!"

"What is? _This?_" Lucy said as she flashed her white two-piece bikini at Gray (who looked as if he was gonna have a massive nosebleed).

"No!" _But that, too._ He thought. "Don't go shouting all you want. I mean, there are people here, you know? Have some decency!"

"Ha! Says the guy who strips every now and then. Maybe that's the reason why you took me to a beach resort: so you could strip more often without anyone puking!"

"Stop acting like Natsu!" he snapped.

_Natsu…_ Lucy thought. _I wonder what he's doing now_.

"Awwe, cr—" Gray cursed. "_Fine_!"

The ice mage took Lucy's right hand up and mimicked. "Repeat after me: I, Gray Fullbuster…"

Lucy almost laughed but found it safer not to, since Gray looked like he was serious. "I, Lucy Heartfilia…"

"…do, hereby, solemnly swear…"

"…do, hereby, solemnly swear…"

"…that I would _not_…" he stressed.

"…that I would not…"

"…give mention or even _think _ about a certain flame mage named Natsu Dragneel…" (back at Fairy tail, Natsu sneezed)

Lucy blinked. "Gray, I…|

"Don't make me look stupid here, Lucy. I want you to enjoy this as much as I would…"

Lucy breathed in deeply. _Always… It's always Gray…_ She looked at Gray. "Why are you doing this, Gray?"

Gray put his arm down slowly. "Because it's annoying when I'm here with you and yet your mind is somewhere I can never be. Lucy, I hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you, here. I'm trying to get you over Natsu."

_He isn't that much of a gentleman. He talks a lot and strips even more_. Lucy looked at Gray. _But whenever I'm in danger of myself, it's always him… It's always him who saves me… _

"So?"

She gave him a small smile. _Thank you, Gray_. "…do hereby solemnly swear that I would _not_ give mention or even _think_ about a certain flame mage named Natsu Dragneel…"

Gray smiled back. He opened his mouth to continue his interrupted oath but Lucy cut him off and continued it for him.

"…and promise to enjoy this five-day vacation to unwind, relax and hopefully, find new love with the help of my good friend, Gray Fullbuster."

Lucy gave Gray's hand a soft squeeze. "Thank you, Gray. You're the best friend _ever—_aside from Levi, of course. I badly needed this."

She hurried to the water, leaving Gray smiling back at her. When he was sure that Lucy wasn't looking, he held his right hand up again and continued with his own version of the oath: "…and swear to make you, Lucy Heartfilia, happy as much as I can, for as long as I can."

A few moments after, he gave himself a shake. "Ugh! I feel so corny and stupid!" he rubbed his arms which had goose bumps now.

He sighed as he put one sheepish hand at the back of his neck and blushed.

* * *

ugh... crappy chapter... _very _crappy chapter!

i'm so sorry! :'(


	6. Day Two

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I _do _own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER SIX: DAY TWO**-  
_"You're so cute, Gray! You know, I think I'm beginning to really, really, really like you."_

_Dear Mom… _ Lucy thought. _It's only the second day of my vacation but Gray is taking me _guy-hunting_. I just hope that it would really work, though_.

Lucy looked at herself in front of the huge mirror. _Gray is my comrade at Fairy Tail, by the way. He visited our house a while back._

She sighed. _Mom, please help me make this a great day. At least, mother, let me find someone new to fantasize about!_

_Pop!_

"You really don't need to find anyone else, Lucy… as long as I'm here…" said an awfully familiar voice.

"_Loki!_" Lucy squealed. "Don't pop in and out without my permission! We have contract, for goodness's sake!"

She fixed her skirt and her pink tube top shyly. "And please stop staring at me _like that_!"

Loki curiously rubbed his chin. "I see… So that's what it is… Excuse me, Lucy, but I'd like to see Gray."

"Next door…" Lucy snapped.

"I see…" the stellar spirit said as he closed Lucy's door and headed to Gray's.

* * *

Gray wasn't too good with fashion. He doesn't _usually_ bother with whatever he wears—he just throws on the first thing he sees and rocks it like on hell of a supermodel. But today was different. He _had _to be careful. He had to stand out, but he still had to blend in. Tricky, tricky…

_Who knew picking an outfit would be this hard!_ He gave his head a violent scratch. _And girls have to do this everyday! How do they do it?_

"I'd pick that black skin-fit top over there; it emphasizes your abs."

"Talking like that… is so gay, Loki…" he said as he sweatdropped_. What a greeting! _

"No, seriously, Gray. Wear that one. Not even _Lucy _will be able to resist."

"What? Wh-what the hell are you talking about?" he remarked, pretending not to notice Loki's point.

"You're blushing, Gray." Loki was now raiding Gray's travel bag and pulled out a nice, white jacket. "Keep this with you, it adds charisma."

"Is that how you did it with the ladies before?" Timidly, Gray started to wear the clothes Loki laid out for him.

"Pretty much, yes. But today, I'm dressing you in my most _dangerous_ combination yet!" Loki's eyes fired up with passion. "Because you are giving my master another chance at love…"

Gray flushed. "S-stop being so corny, Loki."

"Oh, but I'm serious. And here's another secret tip…"

"I don't want to hear your perverted suggestions… I'm going!" the ice mage said as he headed for the door.

"Suite yourself… But this tactic's _never _failed me yet… It's a sure win on girls like _Lucy…_"

Gray stopped. "What is it…?"

* * *

"Gray, I'm sorry for the wait…" Lucy ran towards Gray who looked pissed as he had his back turned.

"It's because you were too busy with your outfit, right? It doesn't matter what you wear, you know?" he said.

"It does! It does! It does because—", she couldn't finish because Gray turned around. Her jaw felt like dropping.

"Because why?" Gray looked at Lucy intensely.

"B-b-because… B-b-because…" Lucy's ears went from pink to crimson.

Gray had always been handsome, she had to give him that much. But today he was just, irresistibly _delicious_! That black skin-fit sleeveless top that flattered _every single part _of his well-toned body and that bad boy stare! _Ugh!_ Lucy felt like melting under his gaze!

"B-because I'm a girl!" she finally snapped. Somehow, she had managed to turn around and keep herself from gawking. Gray smirked.

"Let's just go…" Gray ordered and walked ahead of Lucy.

"I know that!"

_W-what the hell was that? Gray, what the heck are you doing?_

* * *

Gray toured Lucy around the resort which was surprisingly as big as a city. He took her to a small trading district where she found a few hot guys but surprisingly, she didn't pay much attention to them. By mid-afternoon, Lucy was already losing hope of finding a guy and was dragging her feet across the sand, sighing. The beach was also full of hunks but _geeh_… By nightfall, they went to a club and did some dancing (_who knew Gray could shake that thing!_), had a few shots, made a few new friends, yet Lucy wasn't satisfied. And with that, she had a few more rounds and, without knowing that she had low resistance to really hard liquor, ended up drunk, disappointed and throwing up.

"Twinkle~~Twinkle~~ little diamond things~~" Lucy chuckled with every word that she uttered.

"Oi… Stop moving too much, you're real heavy, you know?" Gray said as he piggyback-ed Lucy back to the hotel.

"Why, arentcha strong enough to carry lil' ol' me, Gray~?" she snorted, then laughed.

"Will you please hold on to me properly? If you fall, I'll have to pay for your bills…" he ordered.

"Hmp~! You don't know how to have fun, do you~?" Lucy swung her arms around Gray's neck and rested her head on his back.

She heaved a sigh. "Waaah, Gray you smell so nice today~~!"

"S-Sober up, will you?" Gray blushed when Lucy's breath tickled his nape. Yes, Loki had given him perfume earlier that day. He didn't even know it'd last that long! Way to go, Loki!

"Hm? You're hot, Gray…~~" Lucy commented, still not sobering up. "Literally… Coz it would've been weird if I said it figuratively…" she laughed like a crazy woman.

"S-shut up, you drunk woman!" By this time, Gray was now sweating heavily so he was thankful that they were only a few more strides away from Lucy's room. He had to hurry because he knew he was a little drunk himself.

"You know, Gray… I'm quite surprised I didn't get any guy today… it's you fault, primarily…~"

"Oh yeah…" Gray huffed heavily. "Why?"

"Because you were the flashiest, hottest, cutest, most irresistible man today! That's why I couldn't find anyone else~~!"

"I'd take that as a compliment, though…" _Just a few more steps…_ he thought.

"If you weren't my best boy friend, I'd totally fall for you—_aaah~!_" Gray accidentally dropped drunk lil' Lucy on the floor at this remark.

"W-what the hell—?" it was then that Gray turned beet red because of alcohol and extreme emotion.

Lucy smirked. "Awwe~~ You're so cute, Gray! You know, I think I'm beginning to really, really, _really_ like you."

Gray carried Lucy again. "You d-don't know what you're saying, Luce. You'd better get some sleep."

"Don't wanna~~Gray, I like—" Lucy stopped. She turned green all of a sudden and was now covering her mouth.

"Oh, no…" Gray said. "_DON'T. YOU. DARE. BARF. ON. THE. CARPET._"

Lucy nodded weakly. "Come on!" Gray took her by the waist and put her small body over his shoulders. He immediately opened the door to his room (since it would take too long to open Lucy's) and led her to the bathroom.

A few retching noises later, Lucy opened the door slightly and feebly went near Gray.

"You done?" he asked, she nodded. "Well, then, give me your keys so that you could sleep properly in your room—"

Lucy's eyes closed suddenly and she fell on her back on the floor.

"_Gak!_" Gray interjected. _Y-you're kidding!_

For a short while, Gray stared at Lucy, and then decided to let her sleep on his bed _just _for this night.

Really carefully, he picked her up like she was going to break and laid her on his bed.

"Geez. If you're gonna faint, _at least_ finish what you were saying just now." He scolded as he stared at Sleeping Beauty.

He remembered the last time he looked at Lucy's sleeping face; she had just broken up with Natsu and her eyes were bulging. At that time, he really wanted to wake her up and tell her what he felt but chickened out (_yes, the great Gray-sama chickens out, too…_). But what if he wakes her up now? What would happen?

With one quivering hand, Gray reached for the girls face.

"Mmm…"

_Again with the sleep-talking! _Gray thought. He withdrew his hand and headed for the bathroom.

"Gray…" Lucy said in her sleep-talking voice.

Gray quickly snapped his head back to face her. "W-what is it?" He didn't know why but he was getting really nervous.

"_Gray…_" At that time, Gray confirmed that Lucy was indeed sleep-talking.

"What? What do you need?"

Gray waited.

No answer.

He stood up in defeat and headed for the bathroom again.

"Like I said, at least finish what you were saying—"

"_Daisuki…_"

Gray turned once more. _What the heck? _Did he just hear what he thought he heard?

* * *

tsk3... Gray was peacocking... tsk3...

BTW, sorry for the slow update... i'm just so lazy during summer...

R&R on this chapter please! my nose bled because of this, seriously!


	7. Three's a Crowd

**NOTE: **I'm sorry for the oh-so-late update. I'm just getting settled in another city where I moved to for college (YAAY!). So here it is: an update! So sorry, minna! I hope I didn't take too long!

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER SEVEN: THREE'S A CROWD-**_  
__" Slowly, Gray's face approached hers and their lips met, making Lucy's heart thump wildly in her chest and she felt like bursting._"

"_Lucy…"_

"_The girl opened her eyes but found herself staring at the pink ceiling, dizzy and her eyesight, blurry._

_There were a lot of things she found odd that day. One, her pillow was of a different scent. Two, why was the sun not up yet, and three, since when did the ceiling become pink?_

_She closed her eyes, yet again, trying to find answers._

Oh, yeah…_ she thought, flushing. _Last night, I was a real mess and an embarrassment to Gray…

"_Lucy…" said the voice again._

_Lucy opened her eyes and stared at the pink view again. Only this time, her eyesight improved and it wasn't the ceiling. She was staring at pink strands. Strands of what? Hair?_

_Lucy shot up and stared at the owner of the voice._

"_N-Natsu…" she said weakly._

"_Lucy, let's go home…" Natsu said, affection in his eyes._

_Lucy went numb and couldn't move. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to you. I realized that no matter what happened, it's just you. I love you, Lucy Heartfilia. Not Lisanna, you!"_

_Natsu grabbed Lucy with both hands and hugged her. "Let's go back, Luce…" he whispered._

No…_ Lucy thought. This has to be a dream! _Let me go, please!

_Lucy's eyes started to water._

"_Oi!"_

_Lucy turned to the door to see Gray in the same clothes he wore the night before, looking intensely at Natsu. Then, his gaze turned to Lucy and he offered a hand to her saying, "Come here, Luce."_

_Without hesitation, Lucy went to Gray and wailed._

"_It's okay now, Luce. It's okay." Gray put Lucy's face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "Promise me you won't _ever _leave me."_

"_I promise." She didn't know why but Lucy said it._

_Slowly, Gray's face approached hers and their lips met, making Lucy's heart thump wildly in her chest and she felt like bursting._

_And then… _she woke up, flushing.

"Wha-what the heck was that?" she asked herself.

She looked around her.

She was still in gray's room, on his bed, but no Natsu.

Lucy heaved a sigh of relief. _Just a dream_, she thought.

She glanced around even more to spot a sleeping Gray, one of his feet on the couch while the rest of his body laid motionless on the floor.

Lucy gave a slight chuckle at the sight and made her way to him. She plucked a leaf from the plant nearby and sat beside Gray, her arm resting on the wooden stool beside her. Slowly, she lowered herself, her face only a few inches from Gray's and planned to tickle his ears with the leaf but stopped.

_Gray sure is handsome_, Lucy thought. _I'd bet he's had lots of girlfriends before_.

Lucy continued to stare at him, when she remembered her dream. Gasping, Lucy let out a small shriek. Very small, but enough to wake up the sleeping ice mage.

"W-what?" Gray said.

Without thinking, Lucy grabbed hold of the stool and shoved it on Gray's face, forcing him back to sleep while Lucy made her escape back to her room, annoyed and blushing.

* * *

They were walking awkwardly together, Lucy's hand tightly balled to fist, while she stared at a really pissed, badly bruised, yet still hot Gray Fullbuster.

"Gray, I'm sowie…" Lucy said, putting up 'the look'.

After one glance, Gray looked away, coughed then nodded his head slowly. "Whatever."

"You don't mean it, do you?" Lucy said, pouting.

"I do." Gray said hardly.

"No, you don't.", said Lucy "If you did, you'd be able to look at me."

"Yeah, well, tough luck." Gray snapped.

After Lucy had slammed the stool down Gray's face and bruised it, the ice mage didn't talk to Lucy, only on rare occasions such as that, and when he asked Lucy where she wanted to go. Also, he wouldn't look at her for a straight five seconds, and if he did, he would look away sharply and stay quiet after, like what he was doing then.

"So where do you want to go now?" Gray asked her, still not looking.

"I would only tell you if you accept my apology." Lucy snapped.

"But I _did _accept your apology."

"I'm sowie, Gray…" Lucy repeated.

"Okay, so now, you're just not making any sense."

"I'm sowie…" Lucy repeated, moving to Gray's other side so that he would see her, whether he liked it or not.

"Okay, okay~!" Gray said, pulling both of Lucy's cheeks as he did. "I accept your apology…"

Lucy grinned widely, caressing her stinging cheeks. "Yaay~!"

"So, _where _do you want to go?"

"Yesterday, I think we passed by an amusement park…" Lucy gleamed. "I want to go there if it's okay with you."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go."

Gray went ahead of Lucy, walking fast with long strides, while the girl had to jog in order to catch up to him. They walked for about five minutes but Gray still didn't speak to or even look at Lucy until they arrived at the amusement park where he asked Lucy which ride she wanted to try out first.

"I want to go on the hardcore rides first", she said excitedly. "Then we can go to the games and the gentler rides."

"Okay, let's go on that one", said Gray, pointing to the really loopy roller coaster.

With one long look, Lucy gulped and felt her feet become weak. "Er… On second thought", she said, sweat dropping "let's go on the gentler rides first."

"What's the matter, chickening out on me?" Gray said, smirking at Lucy with a really devilish look.

"Am not!" Lucy said, puffing her cheeks, balling her fists and stomping her feet.

Gray immediately looked away. "W-well, let's go then."

"With pleasure!" Lucy said, taking Gray by the hand and leading him to the line of not much people, let alone mages.

"Welcome to the Death Coaster, the most tongue-tying, knee-numbing, stomach-hurling, hair-stiffening roller coaster ride in all of Fiore! May I help you?" the lady selling the tickets said smiling, despite the really long and scary description she had just said.

"Two tickets, please." Gray said "Front row."

"Oh, is that a challenge dear? Nobody ever asks for the first row. Are you sure you're up to it?" The seemingly nice lady said, leaning closer to Gray from behind the counter.

"Really, now?" Gray said, flexing his arms. "Then, I guess it _is _a challenge then."

"Is the girlfriend doing front row, too?"

"No, I'm not." Lucy said. "To both."

"Both what?" the lady said, puzzled.

"I'm not doing front row ("" the lady said, puzzled.

"I'm not doing front row ("_Yes, she is_." Gray interrupted), and I'm not his girlfriend."

"Well, if she's not your girlfriend now", the lady started as she gave the tickets to Lucy first, then Gray "wait 'til the ride ends. We'll see something happen."

Gray blushed, as he seemed to understand the lady's words. "C-crazy woman…"

"Please enjoy the ride!"

"So I _am_ doing front row after all." Lucy said, feeling extremely dreadful.

"sdfdhbfujshfihf…"

"What did you say, Gray?" Lucy asked, angry because what he said sounded like an insult.

"Nothing…"

"It's not _nothing_!" Lucy said, stomping her feet. "You definitely said something!"

"I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"I said, you don't need to be scared" he started.

"Hmp!" Lucy pouted, then walked away, not even waiting to hear what came next in Gray's sentence.

* * *

"I'm _never_…" Lucy started weakly "Gonna ride that _thing _again—_ever!_"

After the ride, Lucy felt as if her soul had been left in the roller coaster and nothing was left of her and her appetite.

"Weren't _you_ the one who said you wanted to go on the hardcore rides?" Gray said, helping Lucy up by taking her arm and putting it around his neck.

"Well, _you_'re one to talk." Lucy said, putting all her weight on Gray. "You were so stiff during the whole ride!"

"…" At that statement, Gray flushed and cleared his throat. "I wasn't scared…"

"Yeah, you weren't." the girl replied sarcastically. _Pfft, as if!_

"Stay here", Gray said, seating Lucy on a bench near the amusement park stands. "I'll go get you something to drink."

"Y-yeah, thanks…" Lucy said, but Gray hurriedly walked away.

"You…" said an old, husky voice, that of a woman.

Lucy looked from left to right to see if anyone was nearby, then she looked in front of her, to see a woman in a cloak, facing her from a booth. Lucy pointed to herself, to clarify whether or not it was _she _that the woman was talking to.

"Me?"

"Yes, you… Come here!" she commanded, and Lucy obeyed. "I see a very troubled heart in you."

Lucy glanced up to the signboard and it read, _Madam Olga's Future Telling Booth_. "Um… Ma'am, I'm not here to get my fortune read. I—"

"Yes, you like this boy very much, yes?"

_Wham!_ Lucy felt as if a hard hand slapped her. "W-Who are we talking about here?" she asked, trying to clarify whether it was Natsu or Gray. But then wondered why she also thought of Gray when she didn't really like him romantically or anything.

"The mage you _were_ with. You like him very much, but you're denying it."

_Were with?_ _What's that supposed to mean_? Lucy thought. _Were as in just now, or were as in a relationship?_

"He really loves you, you know…" the old lady continued. "He's just having a bit of trouble saying it, that's all."

"Excuse me, ma'am…" Lucy interrupted. "But _who _are we talking about here? Can I have a name?"

"I don't know his name."

"What about special skills?"

"He's a mage who controls an element."

At first, Lucy thought of Natsu, but then considered that ice is water, and water is as much an element as fire is. _Wait, why am I thinking of Gray, too_?

"What about… Hair color?" Lucy said, finally thinking of something that's different between the two.

"Ah, yes… I see… His hair color is—"

"Hey, get out of my stand!" a fat lady in a cloak like the old one shrieked. "Get ooooooooooooooooout!"

At the sound of this, the old woman scampered out of the booth and =was immediately nowhere to be found.

"I'm sorry, dear", the _real _Madam Olga apologized. "She does that very often. I hope she didn't disturb you. She's mentally ill, actually."

"I see…" Lucy managed to say, still shocked from information overload.

"So, would you like to get your fortune read?" the woman offered.

"No thanks…" Lucy said blankly, walking away and still pondering what the old woman said. She wanted to look for her, but she was really gone.

So, sitting in defeat and with a migraine, Lucy stared into space and thought of all the things said to her. Whether or not the woman was crazy was definitely of no importance to her. The words she had said sounded far more realistic than any other well fortune teller.

_But why was I thinking of Gray, too?_ She thought. _Could it be…? Could I actually like Gray?_

Lucy flushed and shook herself violently. "No waaaaaaay~!"

"No way, what?"

Lucy looked up and saw Gray carrying a smoothie from one hand and drinking from another in his other hand—and he was sparkling.

"What the hell?" Lucy blurted out loud._ Why am I imagining him like this?_!

"What, you didn't want smoothie?" Gray asked.

"N-no…" Lucy said, taking the smoothie from Gray's hand (and accidentally touching it, too!) "Thanks…"

Lucy blushed hard, and she knew it. _Oh, dear!_

"Hey, wanna go in the House of Mirrors?" Gray offered.

"Hm?" Lucy turned to Gray, but he was still sparkling, so she looked away immediately, and without thinking, gave him a yes.

"Okay… Let's go, then…"

* * *

The House of Mirrors was _creepy, _a bit fascinating—but it was just _creepy_.

It was creepy because it ruined Lucy's figure and fascinating because at least she couldn't see Gray sparkling in there.

"Gray?" Lucy started.

"Yeah?"

_Crash!_

"_Gaaaaaaah!" a voice screamed_

"Kyaaaah!" Lucy screamed and grabbed hold of Gray, and Gray held her tightly.

Something behind them crashed, and it sounded like a mirror that broke, accompanied by a high-pitched shriek of horror.

"What was that?" Gray screamed.

"Sorry!" a male voice said from the other side of the mirrors. "Please don't mind, we're just experiencing some damaged facilities here."

"Geez…" Gray said. "You alright?"

One moment, Gray and Lucy were staring at each other, the next moment Gray was gently kissing Lucy's lips and Lucy was, well, liking it.

When they finally broke apart (panting and gasping for breath), Lucy put her hand over her mouth and looked at a wide-eyed Gray who was flushing like she was.

"I'm sorry…" Gray said. "It's because of the atmosphere…"

Gray immediately turned his back at Lucy.

"Wait, Gray!"

"What is it?" he said without looking back.

"Do you... _like _me?"

Gray stopped in his tracks to stare at Lucy. His expression was a mix of shock, anxiety, nervousness and mostly embarrassment.

Lucy forced out a laugh. "I didn't think so, either. I was just hypothesizing."

Still forcing a giggle, Lucy walked ahead of Gray. _Oh, God, that was embarrassing!_

"If…" Gray started, and this stopped Lucy from walking on. "If I say I do, what would you do?"

Lucy gulped hard. _Is this really Gray?_ "I… I'd freak out, probably…" she joked.

"Yeah, I thought so, too."

* * *

"We should do this more often…" Lucy said, as they approached their hotel rooms.

"Yeah… And next time, maybe you could treat _me_." Gray snapped.

"Thanks, Gray!"

Gray stopped abruptly, and Lucy, who was behind him, bumped into him.

"Hey!" she said. "Why'd you stop?"

"We have a visitor." Gray said flatly.

He moved beside Lucy, revealing their visitor for that night, which made Lucy's eyes widen.

"Hey…"

"N-Natsu…" was all that Lucy could say.

* * *

Hehehe! Gray was sparkling~!


	8. Three's a Crowd Gray's POV

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER EIGHT: THREE'S A CROWD (Gray's Perspective)-**_  
"So, what are you gonna do now, Natsu?"_

There are only a few circumstances when you know you're dreaming, but you don't want to wake up. And for Gray Fullbuster, this was one of those.

He was fully aware that he was dreaming. He's not that stupid to _not know_ what he was seeing. But still, even if it was a dream, at least he wanted to make the most of it.

So now, he was sitting on a bench in a really flowery garden, under the shade of a tree; beside him sat girl with beautiful blond hair which smelled of lavender and tantalizing eyes that would make any man want to melt.

The two of them had been sitting there for a while; they didn't talk, they just sat there without looking at each other, one looking for the right words to say to the other. After a while of awkward silence, the girl slid her hand beneath Gray's and held it tight. Then, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Lucy…" Gray said, perplexed at her actions.

"Yes, Gray?" she replied, motionless.

"… Nothing …"

"Gray?" Lucy said.

"Yeah?"

"Daisuki!"

At this, Gray's eyes widened. He went stiff and he was extremely happy. So what if this was a dream? It's a pretty damn good one!

Lucy lifted her head to look at Gray properly. With her eyes that implored, she stared at Gray until he went crimson. She closed her eyes and Gray, in reflex, lowered his head until his lips met hers.

At first it was just a meeting of the lips, until the genius Gray-sama moved his lips in an attempt to crush Lucy's. This is a dream, right? Then Gray could do anything he wanted! Gray continued to massacre the girl's lips to the point that he was almost out of breath!

"Eep!" Lucy said clearly.

"H-huh?"

Gray woke up to this sound.

And when he looked up, he couldn't believe his eyes: he was staring at Lucy, the _real thing!_ And they were like, only a few inches apart.

A split second lasted for about an hour to Gray as he looked deep into Lucy's eyes.

But the next split second, he could only feel pain and he could only see darkness.

No Lucy, no kiss; just _pain_.

* * *

"Gray, I'm sowie…" this was about the third time Lucy said this. She was really making an effort to look cute in her apology. She pouted her lips, and had a really adorable look on her.

_Tough luck, Lucy, but you're cute already._ Gray thought.

He turned to look at Lucy but, remembering his dream of them kissing, he felt awkward, flushed and looked away violently.

"Whatever…" he said coldly, trying to hide his nervousness.

"You don't mean it, do you?" Lucy said, sounding very disheartened.

"I do." He replied.

"No, you don't. If you did, you'd be able to look at me."

"Yeah, well, tough luck." _ I'd look at you if you weren't so damn cute so, tough luck, Luce._

Besides, Lucy's morning greeting wasn't very painless either. She slammed a wooden stool down his face, for Pete's sake! Good thing he was literally hard-headed coz the stool received more damage than he did, but still: damage is damage and bruises are bruises.

"So, where do you want to go now?" _And I'm still not going to look at you._

"I would only tell you if you accept my apology." Lucy snapped.

"But I _did _accept your apology."

"I'm sowie, Gray…" Lucy repeated.

"Okay, so now, you're just not making any sense." Gray wanted to laugh, but playing with Lucy like this was just plain fun!

"I'm sowie…" at this, Lucy showed her look to Gray, who was immediately moved.

"Okay, okay~! I accept your apology…" he said, pulling her cheeks hrad. _That's payback for the stool_.

"Yaay~!" Lucy said happily.

"So, _where _do you want to go?" he aske again.

"Yesterday, I think we passed by an amusement park… I want to go there if it's okay with you."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go."

He walked on hurriedly. Gray purposely walked ahead of Lucy so that she wouldn't see him smiling.

_Call it intuition but I think this is going to be a good day!_

* * *

"Welcome to the Death Coaster, the most tongue-tying, knee-numbing, stomach-hurling, hair-stiffening roller coaster ride in all of Fiore! May I help you?"

_This lady selling the tickets isn't doing her job too well._ Gray thought. _After hearing that, who'd want to ride this, except for me._

"Two tickets, please." Gray said. He looked at Lucy (who looked as if she wanted to go home to mama) and decided to give her a tease. "Front row."

"Oh, is that a challenge dear? Nobody ever asks for the first row. Are you sure you're up to it?" The seemingly nice lady said.

"Really, now? Then, I guess it _is _a challenge then." Yeah, Gray just couldn't say no to challenges.

_Bring it on, lady!_

"Is the girlfriend doing front row, too?"

Gray hid the shock from his face. Girlfriend? _Lady, don't look too far ahead into the future._

"No, I'm not. To both." Of course, Lucy would deny it but Gray kept his hopes up.

"Both what?" the lady said, puzzled.

"I'm not doing front row—

"Yes, she is." Gray said, but Lucy cut him off.

"—and I'm not his girlfriend." _Hah, If only I said it after this statement,_ Gray thought, grinning.

The lady gave the tickets to Lucy first, then Gray.

"Well, if she's not your girlfriend now, wait 'til the ride ends. We'll see something happen." She grinned, which made Gray's face turn into a huge tomato.

"C-crazy woman…" Gray cursed, going in.

"So I _am_ doing front row after all." Lucy said, as she saw that the only seats empty were the ones on the front row.

"You don't have to be scared coz I'd be with you…" Gray said to himself.

"What did you say, Gray?" said an angry Lucy.

_What's wrong with what I said?_

"Nothing…" he denied.

"It's not _nothing_!" Lucy said, stomping her feet. "You definitely said something!"

"I didn't!"_As if you'd wanna hear it!_

"Yes, you did!"

"I said, you don't need to be scared" he confessed. "Because I'd be here."

But Lucy didn't even finish Gray's sentence, much to Gray's dismay. So the two of them got on the ride, and double checked the restraints. Gray swore he heard Lucy praying for dear life before the ride started.

When it did, Lucy was teary-eyed and was holding on to anything close to her for support, like Gray's hand. Just like in his dreams, Lucy entangled her hand to Gray's which gave him the shock of his life. For the entire ride, Gray was nervous and happy at the same time to be holding Lucy's hand. He didn't scream, he didn't move, he just held her hand. So what if she doesn't even realize that they locked palms? So what if after the ride, she'd tease him? As long as Gray lived this beautiful moment, nothing would matter afterward.

"Thank you for riding the Death Coaster, we hope to see you again—_if you dare_…"

The speakers said and the ride stopped. Gray got off, feeling extremely happy.

"G-gray…" Lucy said weakly.

He turned to her and saw that she was really having a hard time. But even in times like these, Lucy was extremely adorable.

"Come on, get up!" Gray ordered, taking Lucy's arm and putting it around his neck.

"I'm _never_…gonna ride that _thing _again—_ever!_"

"Weren't _you_ the one who said you wanted to go on the hardcore rides?" he snapped, trying to balance their weight.

"Well, _you_'re one to were so stiff during the whole ride!"

_Geez… So she noticed. _"I wasn't scared…"

"Yeah, you weren't." Lucy said, sarcasm in her voice.

Gray spotted a nearby bench and he put Lucy down there.

"Stay here", he said "I'll go get you something to drink."

He hurried off, without even listening to Lucy's thanks and looked for a place where he could dispense all that happiness. The drink could come later.

* * *

The two of them went in the House of Mirrors simply because Gray found it cool. But if it was awkward earlier, when Gray wasn't looking at Lucy, it was more awkward there, when it was Lucy's turn not to look at Gray.

Of course, it bothered Gray, but he didn't want to ask so he just walked on, admiring his face in different mirrors.

"Gray?"

Gray was startled at Lucy's sudden call. "Yeah?"

_Crash!_

"_Gaaaaaaah!" a voice screamed_

"Kyaaaah!" Lucy, who was a real scaredy cat, grabbed Gray by the torso. And Gray, being protective as he is, felt as if he needed to hug Lucy, which he did. He pulled her close to his body, burying her face in his chest and resting his hand on her head.

"What was that?" he said.

"Sorry!" a male voice said from the other side of the mirrors. "Please don't mind, we're just experiencing some damaged facilities here."

"Geez…" Gray said to the man, then he turned to a shivering Lucy. "You alright?"

Lucy looked up at Gray with teary eyes. Gray remembered his dream being and feeling _exactly _like this back then. He didn't know why, but he lowered his head, just like in his dream, and kissed Lucy, who didn't seem to mind.

_Oh, happy day for Gray._

If only they needed to breathe, then they wouldn't break apart, but they did.

Lucy looked extremely embarrassed, so Gray apologized.

"I'm sorry… It's because of the atmosphere…" he reasoned.

Gray immediately turned his back and wanted to get the heck out of that place.

"Wait, Gray!"

"What is it?" he said, continuing to walk.

"Do you... _like _me?"

_Okay, lady, you just stopped me halfway in my walk. Did you just say what I think you said?_

He looked back at Lucy.

Lucy laughed and gave herself a pat on the head. "I didn't think so, either. I was just hypothesizing."

She walked ahead of Gray.

_This is it. It's now or never._

"If…" he started, and this stopped Lucy from walking on. "If I say I do, what would you do?"

"I… I'd freak out, probably…"

"Yeah, I thought so, too." He said, a bit embarrassed and disappointed.

And he walked on, and they didn't speak until they were near their hotel rooms.

* * *

"We should do this more often…" Lucy said, trying to open a conversation.

"Yeah… And next time, maybe you could treat _me_." He joked.

"Thanks, Gray!" she said.

Gray would've continued with this topic but he saw a familiar shade of pink in front of his hotel room, leaning on the door, arms crossed and looking extremely serious. He stopped to look at the boy's eyes, which were imploring.

"Hey!" Lucy said, bumping into him "Why'd you stop?"

"We have a visitor." Gray said with the nicest words he could find. He originally wanted to say, 'We have a lost mother effin' party crasher who wants to take you back' but knew better.

He moved aside so that Lucy could see Natsu.

"Hey…" the flame mage said.

"N-Natsu…"

With that one word, Gray knew that their five-day vacation just may be cut short. But being the gentleman that he is, Gray went in his room and left the two of them to speak outside.

"Natsu, you retard." Grays smirked "You just had to ruin my almost-perfect day…"

And Gray swore, had Lucy said she liked him, he'd kick Natsu's face flat on the floor and taken Lucy somewhere he couldn't find her. But as of now, he'd have to put up with Natsu's meddling.

"So, what are you gonna do now, Natsu?"

* * *

Natsu, you party pooper!


	9. Three's a Crowd Natsu's POV

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER NINE: THREE'S A CROWD (Natsu's Perspective)-**_  
__"I came here to talk, Lucy. Can we?"_

"_You're joking, right?" Lisanna's voice was imploring and her eyes were wet with tears._

_Natsu could only look at the girl as guilt flooded him inside out. He swallowed hard before he replied, "N-no. I'm not…"_

"_What did I do wrong?" The girl fought her tears hard, but failed the moment she spoke. She clutched her shirt and pulled it down for support, but didn't seem to work one bit._

"_It's not you, Lisanna… I—"_

"_It's not me, it's you, right? Then what's with you? Why are you _breaking up with me?_"_

"_I know this is hard for you, but it's hard for me, too, you know?" Natsu started, shaking his head in frustration. "I'm so confused, I need time to sort things out!"_

_What started as a little statement turned into a violent declaration from the flame mage, enough for him to involuntarily release flames from his fists and make Lisanna step back._

"_Can't we… Can't we sort this out together?" she pleaded._

"_I'm sorry…" Natsu said, now on his knees and cupping his head. "It's something I have to sort out on my own… I just don't understand my own feelings anymore…"_

_The girl knelt down in front of him and took him in her arms. "I'm sorry, Natsu… I think I understand a bit now."_

"_What?" Natsu looked up at the girl whose tears were now flowing down her eyes as if it were a fountain._

"_It's about— you and Lucy, right?" her voice trembled as she continued with her sentence. She loosened her embrace on him and completely sat on the ground weakly. "I had the feeling it would end up like this. I just didn't know… that it would end so soon…"_

_The girl's last statement made her wail, and she covered her face with both hands._

"_I'm sorry, Lisanna… I really am…"_

Natsu weakly opened his eyes as he felt that the train had stopped. How many times had he played back that memory in his mind: five, maybe six times?

Yes, it was yesterday that he had decided to end everything between him and Lisanna. It went tolerably well, even though the girl didn't take it too well. Of course, he still had to comfort her and apologize many times until they were both able to smile like friends again.

_Where was I supposed to go again?_ Natsu thought to himself as he hurried out the train. He didn't want to take it again, that would be just unacceptable and torturous!

He rummaged in the pocket of his pants and took out a small, crumpled piece of paper; written on it were strange letters and symbols to you and me but to the mage, it was an address leading to a certain blonde stellar spirit mage: Lucy.

Natsu put it back in his pocket and started to walk out of the station.

"Wait…" he said. "Where the heck am I supposed to go from here?"

* * *

After asking a few locals, and pleading some others, Natsu was finally able to find his way to the resort hotel where Lucy and Gray were supposedly staying in. He got himself settled in one of the rooms (he rented the one between Gray and Lucy's). Apparently, the two weren't in their rooms so he headed out to town to find them.

"But where could they possibly be?" Natsu said. He rubbed his chin and pondered deeply until it hurt.

Walking some more, he found himself in front of an amusement park entrance.

_This should be a good place to start… _he thought to himself. He went in, running around in circles. He tried catching either Gray's or Lucy's scent but failed, due to the mixture of many scents around him.

"Ahh… This is _impossible_!" he said, heaving a deep sigh. "Wait…"

He sniffed through the air again and found a very familiar scent: "_Flaming Hotdogs!_"

Natsu ran excitedly through the crowd and followed his sense of smell until he found a small hotdog stand near the bizarrely designed stands and booths of the amusement park.

"Give me one, old man!" he said to the vendor.

"Here you go!" the man said, handing a hotdog to him.

"Thanks!" Natsu a bill on the man's counter and continued, "You could keep the change."

Feeling extremely hungry after the four-hour train ride and his very long walk around town, Natsu took a big bite out of the poor hotdog and swallowed it, without even bothering to chew it or ponder about the taste.

"Ah, that was great!" he said. "It smells so good, too!"

Natsu meant to smell the hotdog again, but caught a stronger and more familiar scent walking somewhere not too far, past him.

He turned around and dropped his food at the sight. "Gray…"

For a moment, Natsu couldn't move after seeing the ice mage, who was carrying two plastic cups and looking extremely happy.

"Where's Lucy, though?" he asked himself. He wanted to follow him, knowing that he would lead him to where Lucy was but failed to move.

Only when Gray was of a reasonably far distance had Natsu realized that he needed to trail him.

"Where did that guy go?" he said, as he lost sight of him. "He couldn't have gone _that _far."

Pushing himself in and out of the crowds, Natsu struggled to find Gray but fails everytime.

"Where could he be— Hey, _watch it, old lady!_" he exclaimed as an old lady wearing a cloak bumped into him harshly. "You could've _gotten hurt_!"

"Ah, you have broken two hearts, haven't you?' the old lady replied.

Even though her response was not the least bit connected to what Natsu initially said, the fact that she said _two hearts_ caught Natsu completely off guard and left his mouth hanging open in an utter loss for words.

"What… did you just say?"

"I seem to have made a point. You're looking for her, aren't you?"

_Wow, this lady is good_. "Yes, but how did you know?"

"It's written _all over your face_." She said, smirking.

"Can you tell me where she is?"

"No…" the old lady snapped. "But you _will _find her."

"Where?"

"In the comfort of another man…"

The words she uttered brought pangs of jealousy right at Natsu. _Another man? That's got to be Gray, right?_

"No way… Where are they now, old lady?" Natsu said. He looked up, but the old woman was nowhere to be found. "Crap… Just when you need them most, they're not around!"

The sun was almost setting and it was pretty dark by then and Natsu still hasn't found Lucy. Seeing it more possible to do if he waits outside her door, he decided to give up and go back to the hotel.

"But when I _do _find her…" he said loudly to himself, "_What do I do then_?"

* * *

"Geez, what could be taking them so long?" Natsu said weakly, as he stood outside the door of Lucy's hotel room. "Am I even in the right room?"

Natsu looked behind him to check whether he was, and _he was_.

"Ah… What are those two doing now?" he said, feeling jealous.

_Tip-tap-tip-tap_

Natsu heard a few footsteps approaching him.

_It's them_… he thought, after catching Gray and Lucy's scent.

He straightened himself up at waited for Gray and Lucy to come into view.

He saw Gray first, behind him was Lucy.

He gulped nervously and looked intensely at Gray.

_This is it, don't back out now_. He reminded himself.

When Gray looked up, they locked gazed and the ice mage stopped in his tracks.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" Lucy's voice said.

Gray continued to look back at Natsu, "We have a visitor."

Gray moved aside, revealing Lucy in front of Natsu.

_Lucy_, Natsu thought as he saw her for the first time in what seemed like a million years.

The girl's eyes widened, revealing a mix of pain, anxiety and sadness. "N-Natsu…"

"Hey, Lucy…" he greeted.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Gray said as he went in his room.

"Thanks, Gray." Natsu replied.

"Natsu, what—?" Lucy said.

"I came here to talk, Lucy." Natsu's voice was strangely serious. "Can we?"

* * *

That old woman is surprisingly helpful, huh?


	10. It's You

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **And yes, I have been MIA for a very long (and I mean _VERY_ long) time because I've been so busy with school and I don't have enough money to pay for internet cafes. I'm saving up so that I can write more. Please bear with me and I hope you guys continue to read my fanfics despite the really long time it takes to get it updated. I promise that I won't fail you! I'm so sorry! TT^TT

**GUESS WHAT: **Don't forget to leave a review so I'd know what you're thinking of~! Well, without further ado, the long-awaited update!

* * *

**-CHAPTER TEN: "IT'S YOU…"-**_  
__"It's you… It was, it is and it always will be…"_

_Three hundred thirteen. Three hundred fourteen. Three hundred fifteen._

And the numbers went on.

Lucy has been counting the number of steps she took as she walked beside Natsu along the shoreline that night on what seemed to be the longest, and most awkward three hundred and seventeen steps of her life. None of them were talking: Natsu kept looking up at the night sky and she was just looking at the sand on which she walked on.

She stopped counting for a moment and pondered: _How long have I wanted to walk on the beach with Natsu?_

Too many times, she figured. She imagined them walking hand-in-hand, laughing and blushing at the same time. Then, Natsu would stop and she would too. And their walk would end with a romantic kiss under the moonlight.

But this was just not the same. There was no romance. In fact, there was nothing.

_Three hundred twenty five. Three hundred twenty six. Three hundred twenty seven._

At the three hundredth and twenty seventh step, Lucy stopped. She looked back to see that the flame mage was about five steps away from her, staring intently. She wanted to read what was going on in his mind through his eyes, but there was nothing there: no hint of anger, guilt or even compassion. It was _empty_.

"Why did you come, Natsu?" Lucy finally spoke. She mustered all the courage she had to say those words as calmly as possible. Now she barely found it hard to stand. She waited in silence for whatever Natsu's reply was. In the background, the waves could be heard as they splashed playfully on the sand.

"What happened to you and Lisanna?" she continued.

Still no reply. Natsu was now looking sideways. He looked uncomfortable.

_There!_ Lucy thought. She saw a slight glint of guilt that flashed across Natsu's face.

"If you've come to apologize, there's no need. I'm not angry anymore." She lied.

The flame mage was still silent.

"Well, if you're not going to say anything, I'd like to go back to my room—"

"I love you."

Lucy's lips went dry and her throat felt like something just got stuck in it. _What did he just say?_

"I love you…" he repeated.

"Wh-what?" Lucy asked, doubting. She wondered whether she heard him wrong or that was some other person saying those words to her.

"Didn't you hear me, Lucy? I just said that I love you didn't I?" A smile, not too grinny and not too compassionate played across Natsu's face.

Lucy could hear the thumping of her heart. She found it hard to move even a little bit.

"And… And you're saying this now, _why?_" she asked, trying to sound tough and cool. In reality, she was almost bursting with emotions that she didn't know whether to kiss him like crazy or slap him silly.

"Because I was stupid. And I still am. When Lisanna told me that she loved me, I didn't know how to respond. I guess it was wrong that I had chosen her over you—" Natsu's gaze kept shifting direction.

"Uh-huh." Lucy grunted. She wanted to show him how angry and depressed she had been.

"—and you probably want to kill me right now—"

"You're right about that, too."

"—but I just want you to know that I realized how wrong that decision actually was and that it probably was a mistake I'd regret for the rest of my life."

Lucy just nodded and urged him to continue.

"So to save myself from that regret, I'm asking you for one more chance."

Lucy swallowed—hard. Her stomach felt as if a million butterflies were fluttering in them. She wanted to smile and leap for joy. But she stood still, and kept cool: "That's the only reason why you came here? You should know that I didn't want to see you just yet."

Her voice showed pain and anger, which seemed to reach Natsu, since his gaze changed from be imploring to guilty. "I know. But I just couldn't wait to see you again."

Natsu walked toward Lucy. He held her shoulders gently and locked gazes with her: "Please give me this one last chance to prove to you that I really _do _love you."

Lucy looked away. All of the pain and angst that were supposed to be gone came back at once. The tears she kept in her were now flowing freely from her eyes, not wanting to be deprived of the freedom it deserved.

"You could've proven it to me by choosing me over Lisanna, you know? But you didn't." Lucy said. "It felt so painful: to see you every day with her, knowing you were supposed to be mine, but you, yourself, rejected me."

"I never _did _reject you, Luce! Never!"

"Then you should've known better than to leave me hanging on to something that never was!" Lucy said.

She slapped Natsu square on the face, something she'd been meaning to do all that time.

"You could've been there for Lisanna as a friend while you were with me but you didn't! You chose her over me!" Lucy's anger was now starting to show. "Am I not enough, Natsu?"

Lucy was now wailing. She found it hard to breath, as if something in her chest was stopping her from breathing properly. It tightened and now she was choking on her own tears.

"How could you? Do you know how much I've been suffering these days? You weren't there when you were supposed to be! And now you're saying that you love me? How do you expect me to cope with this emotional torment? How do you expect me to give you another chance when it hurts so bad just seeing you?"

One after the other, Lucy's hands beat on Natsu's chest.

Damn him for being so insensitive! Damn him for being so stupid!

"I probably deserve to die for what I did to you, and I'm aware of that. I was a coward, not knowing what I should do. And I was being stupid when I chose someone else over you." Natsu held on Lucy's hands tightly as he said those words. He looked straight at her with eyes that were controlling, yet gentle. "But I'm here now and I'm never gonna leave you ever again because I love you, Lucy Heartfilia. It's you… It was, it is and it always will be. Isn't that enough to give me another chance?"

"I don't know… I'm not sure anymore… They say that second chances give room to more mistakes…"

"I don't care what anyone says! Even if you run away, even if you change, even if you grow old and become ugly like the old man, _I don't care._ I love you just because you're you. I love you because—because it's you… It's you, Lucy! I love _you_!" he emphasized.

The words seemed to seep through Lucy's skin. All of her strength left her and she fell on her knees. She felt so happy that she was overwhelmed. But at the same time, she wanted to beat Natsu up because he'd been a jerk. And when he can't walk anymore, _then _she'd give him another chance.

"So how about it, Lucy? Can we start over?" Natsu sat down to look at her properly.

Lucy wiped her tears and gave him a reassuring look. "Okay." She nodded.

Natsu touched her forehead with his and closed his eyes. "Thank you, Lucy. I'll make sure you don't regret it."

* * *

what do you think? will you guys forgive my absence?

PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH~!


	11. I, You and Him

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **You guys are really sweet… I appreciate your reviews very much… Thank you!

* * *

**-CHAPTER ELEVEN: I, YOU and HIM-**_  
__"__I'm sorry…_" she said. "But I just can't do it…"

_Ah, this night would be perfect for some cold beer…_ Gray Fullbuster thought with a deep sigh.

He leaned forward, his arms supporting his weight as they rested on the veranda's fencing, to see the beautiful open sea in the moonlight, the cold wind gently touching his topless body yet giving him the sort of comfort he needed at the current situation.

There he was, up on the veranda, watching the love of his life go back to her ex and doing nothing about it.

Could anyone call him a coward? Or would they understand that he's just thinking about her happiness?

Gray's own melodramatic thoughts made him let out a small chuckle.

"You know, laughing alone is a bad sign—even to mages…" said a male's voice from behind Gray, and a can of beer appeared right in front of his face.

Gray didn't even have to look just to know who it was; he simply smiled and grabbed the beer, opened it and drank two gulp-fulls.

"I won't even ask how in the world you got here…" Gray said.

The newcomer, flashing his dull-orange hair which was apparent in the moonlight, leaned on the veranda next to Gray. He, himself, was holding another can of beer.

"I escaped, of course… Right after Lucy and Natsu finished talking…" Loki explained. "I'm surprised you never showed up…"

"You are?" Gray said sarcastically. "Why? What do you think I'd do? _Eavesdrop_?"

"No…" Loki shifted his position, his back inclined on the fencing. "Maybe you could've beaten the hell out of Natsu and say, '_Hey! She's mine now!_' or something."

Gray smirked at the thought. _Yeah, that would probably feel great_.

"Whatever." He replied.

A long pause came between the two men.

"Lucy's going back to Magnolia with Natsu tonight. They're going to catch the last train…" Loki said calmly.

Gray's eyes widened. _So soon?_

After calming himself down, he managed to stand up straight and lay the can of beer on the railing. "I see… And you're telling me this, _why_?"

Despite sounding calm, which was probably one thing Gray prided himself of, his hands were shaking slightly, in a pang of envy. Loki, who had been friends with him since as far as he could remember, noticed this but didn't stop with the psychological attacks.

"Because I just know you're going to stop her." Loki said, and repeated. "I know you will."

"If you're so determined that that should happen, why don't _you_ go and stop her?" Gray said, between gritted teeth. Loki sure knows him this well to manipulate to the point of annoyance and envy.

"Me?" Loki laughed. "_I'm_ not the one with an unrequited love for her, hiding in this veranda like a coward when my guts are telling me to go after her and tell her I love her."

"Yeah, well, _you're _acting like the expert! Let's see _you _put that on practice with Aries!" Gray snapped.

Loki looked at him, wide-eyed. Yes, it was a bull's eye, after all.

Again, the two men were silent for a moment. The sound of the waves seemed to have washed away the previous conversation and the crickets' song split their mouths into wide smiles.

Both laughed, and they didn't even know why. And when the laughing died down, they were serious again.

"But you're seriously not gonna stop her?" Loki said. "_Seriously_?"

Gray only nodded, looking at his comrade who stared at him, as if telepathically asking _'why?'_.

"Well, if she chooses to stay, she _could_ stay. But if she goes, then it's her choice. Who am I to stop her?" Gray explained.

"But if you _could_ stop her—"

"_I would, of course!_" Gray's answer was almost abrupt. "But I can't force her like some dumb-assed control freak. Man, that's not me at all."

"Yeah, that's the Gray I know: always so considerate…" Loki said empathetically, and he started walking toward the door.

"Good luck on your love life…"

"As if you can talk…" Gray snapped back.

"Gray, just stop her, will you?" Loki commanded, like some kind of fan girl rooting on her favourite love team.

"Shut up, Loki. I can't."

In reality, Gray could.

He just won't.

* * *

Lucy was busy packing up her things, ready to go back to Magnolia with Natsu. She was really moved by the fact that he had gone all the way to her just to ask for a second chance. She felt so elated, as if she were the leading lady in a romance novel written by her favourite author.

"So, we're really heading home, huh?" Loki's voice interrupted her train of thought and made her look back in his direction.

"Uhm, yes… With Natsu…" Lucy said, smiling.

"Ah, I see…" Loki sat down on the bed, crossing his legs, and watching her pack.

"And where have you been?" Lucy asked randomly. She couldn't stand the awkwardness of that moment. She felt like Loki had a lot to say—and it bugged her.

"I've been with Gray…"

A surge of electricity ran down Lucy's spine and made her stop. She remembered.

"I see…"

For some reason, there was a heavy feeling in her chest that made her heart pump really fast. Her head was pulsing like crazy and she was very anxious.

"Well, you're suddenly sullen." Loki commented.

Lucy blankly put the last piece of clothing in her bag and zipped it close. "Nothing… Did you tell him I was leaving? Is he coming?"

"No." Loki said, almost provokingly. "He said he wanted to finish this vacation—or maybe even extend it."

"I see…" Lucy said, guilt in her voice.

"Are you sure you're leaving him here? This vacation was, after all, meant for you."

"Why are you persuading me?" Lucy asked.

"Because there's something in you that's so obvious, yet you want to deny because the current events are blocking you proper judgement." Loki explained.

_Something in me? Current events? Proper judgement?_ Lucy was confused as to what Loki was saying. He couldn't have gone crazy, right? And yet, there was something in his words that really had impact on her, although she just wasn't sure _what_.

So Lucy, grabbed her luggage and headed for the door.

"And you're not even going to say goodbye to him, are you?" Loki said plainly.

"I… I guess I should, shouldn't I?" she replied, uncertainty in her voice.

"Nope, I think it's better if you don't."

"What? Why not?" Because—"

_Pop!_

Almost simultaneously, Loki was gone and a very energetic Natsu came rushing through the door.

"Luce, let's go! We're gonna miss the last train!" he yelled, almost naturally.

_Well, that's Natsu for you. _Lucy thought. _He's already talking as if nothing had happened_.

Natsu picked up Lucy's luggae in one hand and his on the other. "I'm really glad we're finally going back together. I actually thought you wanted to stay here with _Gray_." Natsu said, emphasizing on the ice mage's name.

Lucy let out a forced laughter to cover her guilt. "You did, huh?"

The two of them walked away from the hotel. Lucy kept thinking about Gray, all the way up to the mountain trail which led to the city.

_I wonder if Gray would be catching up to us? Is it proper that I didn't even say goodbye?_

Lucy was thinking of so many things that she didn't notice a chasm in front of her and, in the dim light, her foot slipped.

"_Kyaaaa!" _Lucy exclaimed.

"Luce!" Natsu yelped. He abruptly dropped the luggage and grabbed the Stellar Spirit mage by the hand, saving her from a demise that would surely be the end of her.

Pulling her up, Natsu heaved a sigh. "That was dangerous. You should be more careful."

"I'm sorry…" Lucy said apologetically.

"Let's keep going before you slip again." Natsu joked, and he picked up their things.

They kept walking for a little more distance when Lucy was bothered by the silence that she was hearing.

Then, it hit her.

"_My keys!_" Lucy exclaimed.

"What? What about them?" Natsu said.

"They must've fallen when I slipped at the chasm. Oh my gosh, Aquarius is really gonna skin me alive!" Lucy said nervously.

"Well, I could go and get them for ya…" Natsu offered.

"No, please… Just go on to the station without me, I'd catch up with you…" Lucy said, and she ran back all the way down to the bottom of the trail.

He didn't know why, but somehow, Natsu could sense that letting her go was a _really wrong _decision.

* * *

Lucy hurried down the steep slope, to the bottom of the trail where her keys glinted in the moonlight.

_I'm glad that they're here! Or else…_ Lucy couldn't continue as she shivered at the thought of Aquarius washing her away for good.

She picked up her keys with both hands and shook the dust off of them.

"I'm so sorry for dropping you guys!" she apologized.

She smiled to herself and when she was about to go up again, she realized that in front of her was actually a fork road: one leading up to where Natsu was, and the other would take her back to the hotel—back to Gray.

Somehow, Lucy's heart felt heavy. This fork road seemed to have an awful lot of meaning. But she's already made her decision, right? All she'd have to do was go up the trail. She had chosen Natsu. And she'd have to live by it.

But it felt so wrong.

How could it feel so wrong?

What about this made her gut feel so twisted and guilty?

So Lucy started to walk. Hugging her keys closely, she counted her steps.

_One, two, three_…

It almost felt nostalgic that she's counting again.

"_I'm sorry…_" she said. "But I just can't do it…"

And so, Lucy Heartfilia walked on the trail she had chosen: the trail which lead her back to the hotel.

* * *

R&R please! ^^


	12. CONJUNCTURE

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **We have a week of vacation due to school activities so hooray! ^^

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWELVE: CONJUNCTURE-**_  
__"I said, 'I love you'."_

Maybe it was too late now but it didn't matter anymore. It just annoyed him that he had wasted all that time being melodramatic when he could've just followed his gut. Did he seriously think that anything good would come out of him sulking and going with the tide? How could he forget who he was and how he did things?

He was Gray Fullbuster, for Pete's sake! He wasn't living in a scripted world*****. He's going to live his life according to his will this time. He's been giving everything up to avoid conflict but this time it was just one time too many.

He's just sorry he'd only realized that now. If he'd understood it earlier—well, there's no point in thinking about it since past is past.

Right now, he just had to figure out where he hid his darned shoes. And it was really irritating that of all the times he had to lose them, it had to be now.

Does destiny hate him that much? Could it be, perhaps, that destiny was one of those girls he'd flirted with in the past?

He crouched down and searched the bottom of the hotel bed—only to realize that he didn't have a light on.

So he attempted to stand up and, after bumping his head on the bed so hard he saw stars, he moved to the cabinet and searched there.

"Why am I looking for shoes when I haven't even fixed my stuff yet?" he asked himself. "_Aaargh!_ Why am I such a scatterbrain?"

In complete surrender, Gray sat on the floor and breathed in deeply.

"So am I just supposed to give up? The train leaves at exactly 2 am."

He looked at the wall clock which hung above the door: it was exactly 2 am and he had just missed the last trip for that day. Perhaps he should take the train back in the morning? Or should he just finish his remaining days in the resort?

Either way, Natsu and Lucy would've spent time together and that would be the end of him.

He just ruffled his hair gently. With a loud _thud_, Gray lay his weight on the carpeted floor and closed his eyes.

"So what now, huh?" he said aloud, as if challenging whoever was playing with him. "Is this how things are supposed to be? Am I just supposed to laze here and do nothing? Come on! Give me _something_!"

_Tok! Tok! Tok!_

Almost immediately, knocking sounds could be heard from the door. Gray called to whoever was outside that the door was open and that he could come in.

"Room service." A female's voice said shyly.

Gray stood up and went out of the room to leave the young woman to do the cleaning (which was really needed since he messed the room up).

Gray found himself walking out of the hotel. As if his feet had minds of their own, he walked involuntarily to wherever they would take him. It felt weird that he wasn't aware that he was walking; he felt as if he was being pushed or controlled.

Weird, yes, but at the same time, amusing.

What amused him more was that he didn't fall or stumble but instead he was walking smoothly, as if the path he was taking didn't have any roadblocks or anything. It was very curious indeed that it was happening then. So he continued to walk while he closed his eyes, feeling very cold, only remembering then that he had no shirt or shoes on.

Gray relaxed himself and emptied his mind of foreign thoughts: this seemed to help him get over whatever he was feeling a while ago. Enjoying the tickling sensation of the sand against his bare feet, the cold wind on his body and the calming sound of the waves, Gray Fullbuster had fallen in a sort of trance—the relaxing and non-dangerous one.

_I wonder what Lucy and Natsu are doing now? _The thought came like a spark and Gray found himself thinking about it all over again and the trance-like sensation had gone.

So much for emptying his mind.

"Darn that lucky bastard…" he smiled. How funny that he could still smile at the thought of Natsu and Lucy getting back together again. It was pretty sad for him but he wasn't too troubled anymore. Perhaps it was the fact that he was having a good time "unwinding"? Or could it be that he had accepted the fact that Lucy never was and _never will be_ his?

"Gray!" a voice called from afar.

It was a very familiar female voice.

Lucy?

It couldn't be. She's on a train. _With Natsu_.

Darn, that thought just keeps coming back.

The ice mage continued walking; who knows, his mind may be playing tricks on him. He didn't want that.

"Gray, you idiot!" the voice was louder and closer this time. "Stop!"

He opened his eyes. Although the chances were slim, there was no mistaking it.

The voice belonged to Lucy.

He turned around and behold! A girl with blonde hair was running towards him.

_This scene is very romantic_, Gray thought.

And it was. They were surrounded by big, rough rocks that were illuminated by the moonlight. The sand, too, shone pale yellow under the light it was illuminating. The coconut trees in the background also added a touch of drama and it was backed by the ensemble of the soft waves crashing on the shore and the song of the crickets in the trees.

But what made it look very romantic was Gray looking at Lucy as she struggled to reach him.

"What the heck, Gray!" Lucy yelled despite the fact that she was out of breath and panting heavily. "I went to your room but you weren't there! What are you here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing." He replied in disbelief. "Weren't you leaving on a train tonight _with Natsu_?"

Gray emphasized, but the girl didn't seem to notice or mind.

"Frankly…" the girl started "I don't know why either…"

She looked at him and smiled. "I just felt as if this is where I'm supposed to be."

"Are you saying you _like me_?" Gray said monotonously. He kept calm, preparing for what she might say. He didn't want to have his hopes up but he knew there was a big chance of her saying 'yes'.

It wasn't vanity, it was confidence.

"I don't know. I didn't really think about that." She said, looking away. "I just felt like I didn't want to go home yet… At least, not without you."

"And Natsu?"

"I don't know either. I think by now he would've figured that I ditched."

Lucy looked at Gray with a gentle gaze that pierced through his heart.

Gray laughed loudly. Their conversation gave him a euphoric sensation.

"What? What's so funny, Gray?" Lucy asked; exactly _what _was so funny about what she said?

After laughing so much, Gray straightened himself up and cleared his throat.

How funny that he was trying to chase after Lucy and Lucy was trying to go back to him! Their story was just so twisted. But one thing he was totally sure of: this was how things were supposed to be. Screw Natsu; screw destiny; screw everything!

"Why were you laughing? Is there something wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong." He replied.

"Stop messing with me, I know there's something wrong." She snapped, now starting to get irritated.

"I said, 'there's nothing wrong'."

"That's what you say, but what do you really think?"

"I love you."

Lucy was taken aback and a long silence came afterward.

"Wh-what?" Lucy managed to say once the shock ad left her.

"I said, 'I love you'."

Lucy fell silent, gawking at Gray who was smirking confidently at her. She didn't even know how to react; should she believe him? He doesn't look as if he's serious. But why wouldn't she? He's never lied before—at least, not that she knew about.

"Why so suddenly?"

"I don't know. I just felt like saying it now." Gray said. In reality, this was the only time he ever got enough courage to say it. But saying it like that would make him look cooler, right? He had an image to protect so he'd better do all he could to keep it.

"But… Natsu…" Lucy stammered, not picking up enough words to describe her feelings.

"I know. In fact—" Gray looked around "—why don't you come out here and tell me what you think, Natsu?"

* * *

*****Well, actually, he IS living in a scripted world—directed by ME!

And yes, Natsu is _spying_. Playing Ninja agaiiiiiin!


	13. Conjuncture Natsu's POV

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I'm craving for sundae. I'll treat myself since I haven't had anything sweet in three days! This is so bad for my sweet tooth! And what's worse, it's a black out! Nooooo! Anyways, enjoy reading! ^^

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CONJUNCTURE (Natsu's Perspective)-**_  
__"So this is how you declare war, Gray?"_

Seeing the blonde walk away felt so wrong for Natsu.

He didn't know why, it just felt off.

The feeling was like when he was making a wrong decision or telling a lie or letting a very big opportunity pass. It felt so wrong that his stomach lurched and he couldn't stand still. It was as if something bad was going to happen; _as if she'd never return._

Natsu shook his head vigorously and slapped himself—hard.

"What am I thinking?" he said to himself. "Lucy's not that kind of girl!"

So he put down the luggage he was carrying and sat down beside them.

One. Two. Three minutes had passed.

No, she's probably still on her way back to the cliff.

Six. Seven. Eight. Nine minutes went by,

She could be having a hard time finding her keys.

Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two.

Knowing Lucy, she's still probably looking for them. She does, after all, have that kind of enthusiasm. Besides, if she needed help, she'd call, right?

Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.

Isn't she taking a bit too long?

Natsu stood up. Then, without thinking, he shook the dust off his pants, carried the luggage and began running back to the hotel.

* * *

The sound of his wooden slippers as they collided with the rocks underneath his feet echoed in the flame mage's ears.

Natsu has never been a man of patience, he admits that much, but Lucy was an exception. In fact, he'd be willing to wait forever for Lucy. At least, that's what males in dramas and plays do for their women. And he had the feeling that's what he's supposed to do himself.

So why was he running back to the hotel?

He didn't know either.

However, his gut was telling him that something had happened to Lucy within the half-hour that she hadn't returned yet.

And his gut is always correct.

So now, Natsu was running back to the hotel, carrying their entire luggage with him. He didn't care if they were heavy—very heavy, in fact; he just wanted to be sure that the girl hadn't gotten lost or anything.

Could she have been mauled by bears? No, she's not that helpless. And if she _did_, which he hoped not, he would have heard her scream, right?

Natsu ran even faster. As he ran, many more thoughts occurred to him. So many came that the dark night and slippery rocks didn't stop him from getting out of the thicket and back into the boundaries of the resort.

He looked to the right and to the left but there was no Lucy in sight.

A soft breeze blew in Natsu's direction and it brought the strong smell of salt accompanied by a slight sweet scent.

Natsu's eyes widened and his body became alert. After the salty smell faded, a very familiar lavender scent tickled his nose.

Looking toward his right, he saw a golden streak running toward a pile of rocks near the beach. The golden streak, he wagered, was Lucy.

Natsu gave a sigh of relief. So the girl wasn't raped, mauled by bears or accidentally caught in the chasm. She was just running around in the shoreline.

Why?

Natsu raised an eyebrow.

Why _would _Lucy be running alone in the shoreline?

So Natsu left their luggage and followed the girl as she neared the pile of rocks.

"Luc—"

"Gray!"

Natsu almost stumbled. _Gray_? She was running after _Gray_?

The flame mage hid beneath the huge pile of rocks and watched as Gray continued to walk and Lucy was running far behind him.

"Gray, you idiot! Stop!" Lucy's loud voice echoed and made the ice mage stop.

When the stellar spirit mage finally reached Gray, Natsu went closer to hear their conversation.

"Are you saying you like me?" said the other male to Lucy.

Natsu stiffened in a state of confusion. _What the heck is happening?_

"I don't know. I didn't really think about that. I just felt like I didn't want to go home yet… At least, not without you." Lucy looked away shyly. To Natsu, it looked as if she was already answering him 'yes'. And this annoyed him.

"And Natsu?"

Good going Gray. At least you still know who belongs to whom.

"I don't know either. I think by now he would've figured that I ditched."

Natsu's heart felt as if it was about to explode. Was Lucy just playing him all along? Were she and Gray in a relationship?

A lot of questions needed to be answered and Natsu was really irritated by what he was hearing. He didn't even know if Lucy still loved him or had she just been playing him as revenge?

Then again, Lucy wasn't that kind of girl. She's a sweet, kind and very sensitive person. She's not the kind who would whip up revenge. She said she'd forgiven him already, for Pete's sake.

Whatever was happening then, he had to stay to find out.

Suddenly, Gray burst out laughing. This surprised Natsu and Lucy, much more the latter.

"Gray, you must have some screws loose!" Natsu whispered and he himself was feeling all euphoric. Was it possible that laughter was contagious? Maybe, because he really felt like laughing then.

"That's what you say, but what do you really think?" Lucy's voice became louder and Natsu was brought back to the scene he was in.

"I love you." Gray said.

Natsu was caught by surprise at the other male's statement. Is this a declaration of war? Natsu smiled. He would never say _no_ to a challenge. He'd never lose to Gray in magic. How much more, Lucy, whom he treasures more than anything?

The flame mage watched as Lucy took a small step backward.

"Why so suddenly?" she said sheepishly.

"I don't know. I just felt like saying it now."

_Che. _ Natsu mused. _You just want to look cool, for all I know._

He smirked and watched Lucy look panic-stricken and completely mentally unorganized.

"But… Natsu..." said her voice in a decrescendo.

So she really wasn't planning revenge, after all. Her forgiveness was _authentic_ and Natsu smiled as he waited for Gray's reply to come.

"I know…" Gray said coolly. "in fact, why don't you come out here and tell me what you think, Natsu?"

Natsu smiled. "I knew you could feel me from up here, Gray, you sorry bastard."

And he jumped down the rocks to a bewildered Lucy and a smirking Gray.

_So this is how you declare war, huh?_ Natsu thought as his gaze met Gray's.

_Well, bring it on, then._

* * *

Sundae, anyone? I want to eat one so baaaaaaaaad!


	14. CONFRONTATION

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I'm currently writing this in our college lounge. Man, the sun's burning me despite the shade of the tree. I really hate Global warming and Climate change and everything. It makes everything a lot harder. Forgive me for being an environmentalist but this is just how I am. Perhaps I should work for the government? What do you guys think? Hehehe…

* * *

**-CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CONFRONTATION**_  
__"May the best man win?" the ice mage challenged._

_This is bad. This is really bad. _Lucy kept repeating this to herself as she and Gray watched Natsu climb down the big rocks at a fast pace.

"N-natsu…" Lucy stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing myself." Natsu said staring at Gray.

"We were talking…" Lucy said defensively.

"That would be obvious." Gray commented. "I guess you heard everything?"

"From a mile away." Natsu smirked and he and Gray continued their staring contest. "You just couldn't get your hands off of other people's property, huh?"

Gray smirked at this remark and grabbed Lucy by the arm. "And who told you she was your property?"

"Keh!" Natsu exclaimed. "Just when I thought I couldn't hate you any more."

He turned to Lucy. "Lucy, let's go."

"I… I want to stay a bit longer. Can't we?" the girl replied, shoving Gray's forceful grip away. "It's such a waste…"

"Or is it because you want to be with this guy?" Natsu said, obviously pointing to Gray.

"Th-that's kind of… not the point." Lucy struggled to find the right words.

Yes, she wanted to stay with Gray. For no reason, being with Gray was—refreshing. As if a lifetime's worth of problems would just go away. However, the feelings she has for Natsu are still lingering around. And they were strong enough to make her want to leave. But still…

Lucy felt very feverish. Her insides were fighting with each other.

Why did this have to be so hard?

"Let's go back, Lucy." Gray said, taking Lucy's arm and dragging her away.

"What are you doing?" Lucy blurted out.

"Hey, stop it!" Natsu said and he took Lucy's free arm and pulled her to his direction. "Let go, will ya?"

"_You _let go, idiot! Can't you see she wants to stay? That's the only reason why she's here!" Gray argued and pulled Lucy hard.

"Ouch!" Lucy exclaimed.

"No, we're going back to the guild. Come on, Luce." Natsu said and reciprocated Gray's pull.

"Let go, will ya?" Lucy ordered.

"Let's go!" said Gray.

"No, _let's _go!"

"Ouch!"

With one final pull from both parties, Lucy's arm felt as if they were going to come off and she shook both forces with as much strength as she could muster and she ended up losing her balance, tripping and landing on her bottom on the sand.

All three of them went silent.

"I'm going back to my room!" Lucy said and stomped away.

She could hear two sets of footsteps come closely behind her.

She turned angrily. "Don't you dare follow me. Stay here and cool down, both of you!"

Lucy swore she'd never been as angry with them ever since. It was absolutely rare for them to _really _fight and what made her guilty was they were fighting over _her_. A bit flattering, of course, because at least she now knows her beauty is something worth fighting over about but she wasn't a toy! Can't they just try to win her over without breaking each other's arms or legs or _both_?

"I don't think I'd be able to sleep tonight." She sighed and she continued to walk until she collapsed on her bed in the hotel.

* * *

The two mages stared as the blonde walked away angrily from the shore.

It was a very awkward moment for the two of them.

"I told you to let go…" Natsu blamed the other.

"Me? _You _were the one who gave her one last pull before she finally burst!" Gray retorted.

"You're blaming _me_?" Natsu said, raising a knuckle, ready to make it land square on Gray's face.

"Isn't it obvious?" the other snapped back, raising a knuckle himself.

Just when they were about to injure each other, they both came to a halt the moment their eyes met.

And the two broke in laughter which lasted for a short while. When they were able to regain composure, they stared at each other intently as if conversing with their eyes.

There was an eloquent pause that followed and the cheerful atmosphere turned serious.

"You're serious about what you said?" Natsu said first, breaking the silence between them.

"Which part?" Gray replied, emphasizing on the wide range of possibilities.

"The part about Lucy…"

"Damn serious." Gray replied bluntly.

"That's too bad, then."

"Why?"

"Because I have no intention of losing her to anyone. _Especially not to you_." Natsu flashed a determined look.

"That's what I'd expect. But you'd better not let your guard down—_at all_." Gray said and he held out a hand.

"You don't need to remind me." Natsu replied and shook hands with his rival.

"May the best man win?" the ice mage challenged.

"Agreed."

* * *

_Mianhe…. _I suck at endings… tsk3

Anyway, R & R?


	15. THE DAY AFTER

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **And so, the first semester is about to come to an end and guess what? I SURVIVED! Yeah, BABY! But I haven't been watching Fairy Tail for about five months so yeah… like you care, right? Hahah! Anyway, an update! YAAAY!

* * *

**-CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE DAY AFTER**_  
__"This is our contest and the prize is you."_

It's not unusual for Lucy to find it hard to get up in the morning. However, with the circumstances she was in she wanted to stay in bed so bad, she thought it better to just disappear.

The blonde turned on her back and faced the ceiling. What time was it? Nine? Ten, maybe?

She groaned. And her stomach grumbled with her.

Reluctantly, the girl sat on the center of the bed and let out a loud sigh. Breakfast _is _the most important meal of the day. Skipping it would be bad for her health and figure, which she was very contented with, thank you very much.

The girl wore her slippers, brushed her teeth and changed her clothes before heading for the door.

As she opened it slowly, Lucy listened around her for any signs of Gray and Natsu. Finding none, Lucy closed the door behind her and went down to the café where she would have her late breakfast.

Lucy paced slowly, trying to take as much time as possible despite her grumbling tummy. She reminisced last night's events and tried to really soak them in. She remembered feeling very troubled before going to bed: Gray versus Nastu isn't a very rare sight but this was a different case. They were fighting over _a living thing_: her. No matter how warm-hearted and kind those two are, the thought of them fighting is just—_wrong_.

"Be careful what you wish for…" said Lucy as she remembered herself wanting to be fought over. But now that she's actually experiencing it, it's not as fun as she imagined especially when neither Natsu nor Gray seemed to want to lose.

Lucy reached her destination and the tinted doors opened for her and revealed Natsu and Gray eating together in one table.

"_Huh_?" she said, slightly shocked. It's as if the two didn't have a confrontation the night before.

"Yo!" said Gray as he sipped coffee and read something that looked like a gazette.

"Hey, Lushie…" Natsu said in between bites of his food.

"He-hello…" she greeted back, sitting with them on the same table. "You guys are friendly today…"

The two boys looked at each other. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you're not really fighting or anything or about anything…" she said sheepishly, not wanting to assume anything. What if last night had been a really bad dream?

"Ah… About that…" Gray remarked, as if knowing what was on Lucy's mind. "We decided we won't let it come between our—"…_team_." Gray was having difficulty at finding the right word.

"Besides, our team and you are two different things. We can't get them mixed up." Nastu intelligently added.

Lucy was dumbfounded at this. She knew the two of them were kind but this is something else!

"So it's like…?" Lucy started.

"The best man wins, of course!" they chorused.

And Lucy melted in relief.

* * *

"We—we're gonna do what?" Lucy said.

The two men smiled at each other.

"It's only fair, right? That each of us take turns on dates with you?" Natsu smiled.

"We figured it's the best way for you to decide which of us you really liked." Gray said.

"Y-yeah, I guess but I don't really remember agreeing to any of this." Lucy stuttered.

"Well, we didn't think we needed to tell you." Natsu said and Gray nodded.

"This is our contest and the prize is you." Gray said. "And this is a first that the prize just so happens to be the judge so you better get yourself ready."

"I… I'm not sure this is a good idea. Usually, I just think things over. Is this really necessary?" Lucy asked them, as if a player asking about the rules of a game.

The two nodded simultaneously.

"So, since Natsu's had a date with you a lot before, it's just right that I go first." Gray said, standing up and stretching.

"Why are you stretching?" Lucy asked shyly.

"What? That's clearly not fair. You're been together for three days so I should get to go first!" Natsu said in protest.

"The three-day vacation doesn't count 'cause Lucy was always thinking about you! I couldn't even do anything!"

"Why, what were you planning to do?" Lucy asked nervously.

"Well, it's not my fault you're so freakin' slow!"

"Oh, yeah? Why not try saying that again, flamehead?"

"With pleasure!"

"_STOOOOP!_" Lucy screamed.

The two stopped and looked at the girl. "You decide who goes first, then."

Lucy looked at Gray, then Natsu, and back to Gray.

"How about you two just play rock-paper-scissors?" Lucy said. It's a perfectly harmless game. Plus, it's fair and just.

The two looked at each other again and nodded in agreement.

"One…" Lucy started and the two assumed their positions with one hand on their backs.

"Two…"

Gray and Natsu looked intensely at each other.

Lucy's heart gave a cartwheel. Something about the look on their faces told her rock-paper-scissors wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Th-three!" Lucy announced and Gray and Natsu sprang to action.

Gray slapped Natsu while the latter poked him in the eyes. Both flew in opposite directions about two meters from Lucy.

"What the hell—?" Lucy said, completely bewildered . "What? Why?"

"I win!" A triumphant Natsu said, caressing his cheek which had Gray's hand marked on it.

"That was just pure luck!" Gray argued without opening his eyes which were watering and even seemed to be bleeding. "I demand a rematch!"

"No! No rematch!" Lucy protested. "Natsu goes first! Gray, you should get those eyes of yours checked. What the heck is your definition of rock-paper-scissors anyway? Wasn't that a bit too brutal?"

"What? Of course, not!" Natsu said, helping Gray up. "That's how we've always been doing it."

"Rock is a punch; Paper is a slap and scissors is a poke in the eyes." Gray said, slightly opening his eyes which were, of course, red.

"Well, then, I'd go to the management and hope I didn't get anything busted." Gray said. "Natsu, you jerk. That was a bit too strong."

"Speak for yourself. I thought my head was about to come off." Natsu said, caressing his cheek again. "Anyway, you'd better get going."

"Whatever. See you." And Gray walked off.

Lucy stared at him as he did when Natsu suddenly took her by the hand.

"So..." he said. "I hope you're ready to choose me."

He smirked confidently and Lucy's heart skipped a beat.

* * *

_My heart… skips… a beat…_

_My heart… skips… a beat…_

My roommate always plays this on her phone and it sort of just got stuck…

Anyway, what do you guys think? Worthy of another chapter? ^_^


	16. The Date  Natsu

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: … I am sorry for their OOC-ness …

* * *

**-CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE DATE (Natsu)-**_  
__"I love you because I just do. It doesn't need an explanation."_

It was late in the afternoon and the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard in the deep part of the forest. It echoed at a steady rhythm, _tap-tap-tap_.

"Natsu!" a girl's voice said aloud.

No answer.

The boy Natsu just held the girl's hand tightly as they ran together. It was as if he hadn't heard anything. He was just so excited. He didn't remember being that thrilled and anxious about anything at the same time. The really heavy backpack he'd brought with him wasn't even a problem. He was just so glad he'd won that rock-paper-scissors match against Gray the day before. It gave him the right to be the first to date Lucy. This date could determine the kind of life he'd have with her.

_Well, it pretty much does_. He thought. _A life with Lucy, huh?_

He'd never really thought about getting married just yet. He was, after all, still in his late teens. He had a long way to go before he'd earn the right to actually get married. But what if he was old enough? What if he'd done everything he wanted to do?

Natsu smiled at the thought.

"Natsu, _slow down_!" Lucy begged, panting. "You're going too fast! Where in the world are you taking me anyway?"

"Just you wait, Luce! There's a really great spot just up ahead." He said, very sure of himself.

Lucy, on the other hand, could not see where the 'really great spot' was. They have been running for about ten minutes and her legs were shaking, she was panting and she was sweaty. If she wanted to go on a date, she should at least be comfortable. Then again, a date with Natsu has never been normal.

"We're really, really close now." Natsu said reassuringly.

"We are?" Lucy's voice doubted. She glanced up ahead where there was a bright, orange light and smiled.

_Finally! We're close!_

Still running fast, Lucy anticipated the view that would greet her. As they neared the light, she squinted her eyes because it was very blinding and only opened them when she and Natsu finally stopped running.

"What's with that expression?" Natsu said, smirking. He was the first thing Lucy saw when she regained her sight. "You're not even the least bit impressed with my discovery?"

The girl looked around her and her eyes widened.

The two of them were on a really high cliff which ended with a very scenic view of the glassy, open sea. The sun's rays on the water and the gentle crashing of waves were very inviting. The bright orange light that gleamed and the purple, orange and white clouds made the scene even more dramatic. Jumping above the water, Lucy could see different types of sea creatures, harmless and practically begging her to swim with them. Near the cliff they were on stood giant trees which provided them shade. They were very tall and wide, and Lucy imagined that she could already make a room inside them had they been hollow.

"Well, I guess you _are _impressed after all!" Natsu said, smiling proudly at himself.

"Who wouldn't be?" the girl replied, still in awe. "It's like this is a whole new place. It's—_perfect!_"

She smiled widely.

"Perfect? Like perfect for a date?" Natsu said and the girl was suddenly taken aback.

She felt very awkward at that moment. If only he hadn't said that. Now, she was very conscious about herself and how she looked. She fidgeted and her cheeks grew warmer. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, as if ready to explode!

Natsu gave another reassuring smile. "Come on, this isn't the best part!"

The flame mage took hold of her hand again and lead her up the tallest tree.

"Wh-where are we going, really?"

"Just wait. We'll get there." Natsu said, climbing first and guiding Lucy up. "Here, give me your hand."

Natsu pulled the girl up to a very flat, circular portion of the tree near the cliff. Although it was a tree, it felt like solid ground under Lucy's boots. It was pretty spacious, too, about six feet in diameter. The cool breeze that blew gently at that height was also very calming. How great, Lucy thought, it would be to stay there with a good book, some coffee and cakes. It's like a perfect place for relaxation.

The girl shifted her gaze to her right. The sunset view could clearly be seen. No leaves or twigs were covering the picture-perfect scenery.

"Impressive, huh?" Natsu said, again in a voice that was very proud.

He took a look at Lucy's feet. "Hey, take off your shoes."

"Wh-why?" she said looking at Natsu take off his wooden sandals.

"The moss up here isn't gross at all. It's also very relaxing. Come on!"

Lucy followed his act and took off her right boot. She gently laid her bare foot on the mossy tree, afraid it might feel slimy or slippery or anything gross at all—but it wasn't. It was as if she was stepping on small blades of grass: dry and soft, and tickling her foot.

"Wow, Natsu. This place is really something!" she congratulated and took off her other boot.

"So, uh, what do you want to do now?" he said, stretching his arms as high as they can go.

Lucy thought for a while and, upon seeing Natsu's luggage, said: "Well, I'd really want to see what's inside that backpack of yours."

Natsu looked at her for a moment and flushed while saying, "Okay."

He unzipped the bag open and took out a blanket, boxes (which looked a bit squashed), teacups and a medium-sized flask.

Lucy gave a small laugh. "What's with the tea party stuff?"

"Huh?" the boy replied, taking out more things of the seemingly-bottomless backpack. "Oh… I saw it appropriate… _Cake_?"

Natsu opened one slightly squashed box and revealed chocolate mousse cake and offered it to Lucy.

"Thank you, my good man." Said Lucy in a very royal tone. "May I interest you to some coffee?"

Lucy took a teacup and poured on it a dark liquid from the flask.

"Thanks. But this is actually tea." Natsu said, smiling. "It was a good guess, though."

Lucy laughed at this. "I see…"

They both started eating very quietly, without looking at each other. For Lucy, it was almost the most awkward moment of her life. For Natsu, it was a really tough challenge to find out what to say. Both of them were looking for a subject to talk about, and both failed at this.

Finally, Lucy broke the silence. "What do you want to do now?"

Natsu paused for a moment and beamed. "Let's play a _game_."

"A game?" Lucy shuddered. The thought of Natsu and games just didn't seem too right without violence, gore or both. "What kind of game?"

"Don't worry; it's a harmless game of spin the bottle." Natsu said brightly.

Lucy laughed. "What a crazy idea. For one, there are only two of us so the game won't be too interesting. And secondly, we don't have a bottle."

Natsu thought for a moment and then, after beaming like a child with a new toy, said "That's okay. Let's just take a twig and spin it."

He took a twig and put in between the two of them. Then, he placed a teacup, a plate, a box and a stone in such a way that they, along with himself and Lucy, formed a small circle.

"And what are these?" Lucy asked, picking up the plate.

"Put that back!" Natsu ordered. "They're additional players."

"I see." Lucy said, holding back laughter.

"Well, let's start!"

Natsu spun the twig and it stopped, pointing to stone.

"Well? What now?" Lucy asked, emphasizing on the pointless deed of asking a stone.

"Go and ask it something." Natsu challenged.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Okay… Mr. Stone, how does it feel to be kicked around all the time?"

Lucy waited, then looked at Natsu who just pointed to the stone, urging Lucy to keep looking at it. Lucy heaved a sigh and obeyed.

"What do you think? _You _try being kicked from one place to another without even doing anything!" a small, high-pitched voice said, and it came from the rock.

Lucy almost jumped up. She looked at the stone, wide-eyed and jaw dropped. "Y-you can talk?"

"Of course not!" it replied. "But Natsu is a great ventriloquist, though."

Lucy gave Natsu a very surprised look. "You do ventriloquism?"

"I didn't tell you?"

She shook her head.

"Well, then, let's continue." Natsu said and spun the twig yet again.

This time, it stopped and pointed to him.

"Awe, man!" he groaned. "Well, go on, then. Ask me anything."

He closed his eyes in confidence and smiled.

Lucy thought for a moment and, without hesitation, opened her mouth. "Why…did you choose me over Lisanna?"

Natsu's shut eyes slowly opened and stared at Lucy. His gaze was very gentle and reassuring.

Lucy looked away and noticed that the sun was almost setting and it was already pretty dark. Suddenly, a small light passed in front of Lucy.

"Huh?" she said.

Another flash of light flew by; and another, and yet another. She looked around her and saw that more of the little floating lights were dancing around them.

"Fireflies!" she exclaimed. "So pretty."

Lucy enjoyed the view set before her. The fireflies danced around them. What amused her more is the view of the sunset. The sun was now almost under the horizon and only a small portion of it was left above. The view was absolutely calming. And she was enjoying it all for free thanks to Natsu.

She looked at him and he looked intensely back.

"I love you."

"Eh?" the girl said, acting as if she didn't hear.

"You asked me why I chose you over Lisanna?" Natsu said. "It's because I love you."

"B-but why?" Lucy said. Or at least she thought. The truth was that she couldn't hear herself because of the loud beating that was echoing in her ears and thumping on her chest.

"It doesn't need a reason, does it?" Natsu said. "I love you because I just do. It doesn't need an explanation."

Lucy couldn't speak and her mouth was dry for a moment. "N-natsu…"

"I'll say it again…" the flame mage said, leaning closer to the girl until their faces were only a few inches apart. "I love you."

Natsu closed the distance between them and Lucy unconsciously closed her eyes. It was a feeling of warmth that enclosed Lucy. She had completely forgotten about everything that Natsu had done before. So she still _does _love him, after all.

And by then, the sun had completely set, and darkness enveloped them.

* * *

Well, I've been reading your reviews and I thought, _how many chapters will I do, anyway_?

I couldn't answer that myself. It's like I really don't want to stop writing but all good things must come to an end.

Hehehehehe…

Don't worry, it's not the end yet. I can feel more chapters coming before the end.

And maybe a sequel's sequel's sequel? Heheheeheheh…

I'm really glad you guys like my story. I take my head off to you. Hahahaha!

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!


	17. The Date Gray

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: That was a break wasn't it? Make sure to read my comments at the end, okay?

**WARNING: **Get ready for a really long chapter. I hope you have your popcorn and cola, or anything that will keep your mouth busy as you read. This is compensation for the really long vacation I've had from writing fanfics.

* * *

**-CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE DATE (Gray)-**_  
__"Don't force it." Gray said softly. "If you do, it would only be harder to get it to let go…"_

The next morning, Lucy woke up remembering the events that had happened the night before: how Natsu had fixed up the very romantic date, how she saw the way his eyes sparkled in the sunset, and how he kissed her; that kiss so gentle, so sweet, so short yet it seemed to last for a long time.

Lucy smiled at the thought. She touched her lips gently; she could still feel Natsu's lips on them. A surge of electricity ran through her body and she squealed, flushing.

Then came a knock on her door.

"Lucy, you awake?" It was Gray's voice.

The blonde mage gasped. _Right! _It was her date with Gray.

"Uh… Yeah… I'm awake." She replied hesitantly.

"You ready?" Gray asked, after a while.

"Ye—no… No..." Lucy honestly answered. "Wait at the lobby, I'll meet you there."

Lucy heard Gray sigh slowly. "Okay. Take your time, then."

For some reason, Lucy's heart felt as if it was being squeezed. The tone of Gray's voice was… _helpless, _if you could put it in words. As if he was defeated. Guilt flooded the girl. Why does she still have to go on a date with Gray, when she already knew who she _really _loves? Won't it just hurt Gray more? Wouldn't it be somehow making him hope?

Lucy slapped her face hard. "Wake up, Lucy. Just get this over with."

So she got up, preparing for a long date, hoping that at the end of the day, Gray would understand.

"Don't worry, Lucy. He'll understand… I hope…"

* * *

"Well, _you _surely took your time…" Gray commented, raising an eyebrow.

'_Took her time' _was a bit of an understatement, though. Lucy had taken three hours to get ready and Gray honestly looked as if he was about to leave.

"I'm sorry." Lucy said, bowing apologetically. "I just wanted to make sure that I matched up to how you looked today and boy, did I do it right!"

Gray's eyebrows met now as he flushed, looking at her. Lucy had hit a bull's eye: he was absolutely dressed. Why, he looked like a runway model for a fashion show! He was wearing a black jacket which was buttoned only halfway, showing his sexy collarbone and a glimpse of his toned chest. His tattered jeans, rubber shoes and small backpack also added to the bad-boy look, not to mention his unruly hair was sexily all over the place. As Lucy looked at him, he looked as though he'd really prepared for this day.

…And at the end of this day, she'd have to tell him that _it's just not him_.

Lucy's face went blank. What a waste of Gray's good effort. Although she had to admit that he looked absolutely _gorgeous_, it was just Natsu.

"Are you okay? You look confused." Gray asked. He was now standing up, from leaning on the lobby wall.

"Huh?" Lucy asked, looking at him.

Gray smiled, then, looked around. After sighing deeply, he looked at her again. "I said, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, sure. Of course!" Lucy lied.

"So, when do you wanna go?"

"Uhm… You didn't prepare a place or anything?" she asked, a bit surprised. She may have been expecting too much.

"No…" Gray said. "Well, why we just have a ride downtown?"

"A ride on what?"

"On my bike."

"You have a bike?"

"I was having it fixed when we went here. They sent it over so I could use it. It's the same one I used when I escorted you on your date with Jacques."

"I see. But…" Lucy said, clutching her miniskirt.

"Oh… Well, that's okay." Gray said, rummaging through his bag. He, then, took out a piece of clothing which looked like jeans. "Wear this."

"What?" Lucy asked, a bit insulted. "These are yours, aren't they? Why are you making me wear them? Do you have no sense of fashion?"

_Go on, Gray Fullbuster. Give me more reason not to choose you._

"Well, I don't want you to go back to your room on the seventh floor. I assume you already found out that the elevator is under repair?" he snapped calmly back.

Lucy fell silent, remembering that another reason why she was so late was that she had to take the stairs. She looked at Gray and felt guilty about speaking so loudly to him. He was thinking about her, after all.

"Besides…" Gray continued, "…even if those _are _mine, they'll compliment your tube pretty well if you wear a belt. It's a good thing you wore a vest."

The girl cleared her throat, feeling ashamed. So Gray _does _have that chic sense.

"Fine." Lucy replied, defeated, and stomped off to the lobby washroom to change.

* * *

"Gray, slow down!" Lucy screamed.

No use. The engine was roaring too loudly, she doubted if Gray even knows she was speaking. And it really wasn't helping that they were both wearing helmets that covered their faces.

"Gray, for Pete's sake, slow down!" she screamed again, holding tighter on his waist.

_Wow, Gray's abs are rock hard! _Lucy thought. She, then, shook her head. _What am I thinking?_

"Hey, not too tight! I can't breathe!" she heard Gray scream at her, then taking her hand and moving it.

"I'm sorry! But, where are you taking me?" she screamed.

Gray slowed down and spoke. "I'm taking you out to eat."

A smile split Lucy's lips. She was pretty hungry and some food sounded really great.

"That sounds great, Gray."

Suddenly, Gray stopped the motorcycle in front of an old music store. Both of them got down and Gray took off his helmet. Lucy, however, was having trouble in doing so.

Gray only smiled as he saw her having difficulty in loosening it.

"Darn it…" Lucy said, forcing the lock apart. Then, after seeing Gray smile deviantly, froze, feeling ashamed.

Gray stepped forward and took her hand off of the lock.

"Don't force it." Gray said softly. "If you do, it would only be harder to get it to let go. If you have the patience, though, it would be easier to do it."

The words that came out of his mouth and the way he had said it sounded so different to Lucy. As if her whole body trembled at this, as if it was very romantic.

_How the hell can loosening a helmet lock be romantic? _She scolded herself.

_Click!_

"Here we go." Gray said, and carefully took off the helmet from Lucy's head.

"Thank you…" Lucy said, fixing her hair.

"Well, then, let's go and eat." Gray offered, both hands in his pocket and walking ahead of Lucy.

"Where are we going to eat?" she asked, looking around and seeing that there doesn't seem to be any restaurants nearby.

"Are you really asking me that?" Gray asked, almost laughing. "We're going to eat here, silly."

"Here?" Lucy said, looking around. "You mean, street food?"

Gray smiled. Then, taking her hand, he walked excitedly to a nearby squid ball stall.

"Hello, aunty." Gray greeted the middle-aged woman there. The woman smiled at him and greeted him back. "Two, please."

The lady started frying the squid balls, then, after putting sauce on it, gave it to both of them.

"You know, I eat much more than four small squid balls." Lucy commented.

"I know." Gray replied. "You think I'm that stupid? Hurry up and finish it. There's a really good rice cake stall over there and I really want to try it."

"Okay, okay!" Lucy said, eating the hot squid balls carefully.

_Well, this is really unpredicted. I thought he'd take me somewhere romantic with flowers and candle light. _Lucy mused, biting. Then, she remembered the fireflies show she witnessed the night before and smiled again. She couldn't seem to get over the shock of Natsu's date yet.

"Here you go." Gray said, interrupting her train of thought, and handing her four rice cakes and five sticks of fish cake. "Don't worry; this won't ruin your figure."

"Huh?" Lucy said, looking up. "Oh. Yeah. It better not!"

Gray sighed again and smiled. "What do you want to drink?"

"Cola. Just give me cola, please."

"Okay, wait here." Gray said and walked away.

Lucy followed him as he moved in the crowd of people. The way he walked was so flawless. He could've been a model or a star if he wasn't a mage. The curves of his body, every detail of his face; it wouldn't be hard for him to be famous. And he could get any girl he wanted.

_So why does he want me? _She asked. _When he'd just end up getting hurt?_

Lucy sighed deeply. She would regret ever hurting such a sweet guy like Gray. When she was in her pits, he pulled her out. He even helped her almost get over Natsu. She saw how hard he tried to make her happy. And just breaking his heart was just, well… _Wrong_!

Lucy took a bite of the fish sticks and finding it unsavoury, she threw it away to somewhere Gray wouldn't see it.

"Hey!" Gray said.

Lucy nervously looked up, hoping he hadn't seen her do that. "Yeah?"

"Come with me." Gray ordered, handing her the can of cola.

"Where?" Lucy asked, hurriedly drinking her cola.

"Just follow me." Gray said, holding her by the wrist and dragging her into the crowd of people who were flocking ahead.

_The wrist, huh?_ Lucy mused. She may have been reading too many romance novels but shouldn't Gray be holding her hand, not her wrist?

_Oh, Gray, you're just not boyfriend material yet!_ Lucy thought.

Then, the sound of fiddles, drums, flutes, tambourines and clapping and tapping registered in Lucy's ears.

"Wh-where are we going, Gray?" Lucy asked.

"Just up ahead." He answered. "Look!"

In front of them, where the crowd was flocking, were people playing the instruments and dancing and laughing and having fun.

Lucy's eyes widened and a smile pulled her lips apart. The people who were dancing, the band and the children running around: the scene looked like a picture out of a fairytale.

"Wow! This is so amazing, Gray!" she said, looking beside her.

However, Gray wasn't there. She looked around and found him talking to one of the fiddle players.

"What is he doing?" she said.

Then, the person Gray talked to whispered to another and the guy whispered to another and another until the message was passed to every one of the players. They nodded and one of the fiddle players gave his instrument to Gray.

"What the—?" Lucy asked, smiling. _Does Gray play the violin?_

The ice mage took the fiddle and signalled to the rest of the band. The people watching and the dancers were silent, waiting for whatever scheme they were plotting. Gray nodded once, then twice. After the third nod, he started playing the fiddle and small, crystal snowflakes fell on the ground even though it was hardly snowing and the storm clouds were still so far away.

Amused children, after hearing the tune Gray was playing, danced to it while the people around them stood in amazement at the peculiar crystals that fell.

Gray started to dance with the children as he was playing and this made Lucy smile. She started to clap her hands for Gray, who was playing exceedingly well, aside from the fact that he looked really cool as he danced. The people around them, too started clapping and dancing.

The ice mage retreated and returned the fiddle to the owner, who played in his stead, and Gray approached Lucy.

As he approached her, a smile split his face; the kind of smile that made Lucy gulp.

"Oh, no… No, no, no, no, no!" she said repeatedly.

"Lucy…"

"Gray, no!"

"Come on…" he persuaded, bowing.

"Gray, I really can't…" Lucy said, waving her hand in defense. "I was born with two left feet…"

Gray immediately took her right hand and put her left hand on his shoulder. "Just trust me and follow my lead."

Scared, Lucy nodded.

_You don't know what you're doing, Gray. Women don't dance in huge, open crowds like this._

However, Lucy was surprised at how she wasn't making a fool out of herself. Maybe it was the fact that Gray was just carrying her around, or maybe it was that that she could actually dance a little, she just lied that she couldn't. She just didn't have the confidence to do so. And Gray being there with her, dancing with her and completely taking the stage, was enough to give her the confidence boost she'd needed.

For how long they had danced, she didn't know. But what she _did _know was when they stopped, both of them were sweating and the people around them clapped for everyone who had danced. It must have been a pretty long time since it was already around mid afternoon.

Lucy and Gray smiled widely at each other, though panting and almost out of breath.

Then, Lucy realized that she and Gray were actually _pressed against each other so closely _that she could feel his heart beating—literally. She immediately pulled apart and Gray cleared his throat to avoid the awkward moment.

"Well, that was fun." Gray commented and they both walked away from the crowd.

"I agree…" Lucy confessed. "It felt pretty good to dance like that."

"It did?" Gray replied.

Lucy nodded. "And I didn't know you could play the violin!"

"That's because it's not something I show to everyone. You should consider yourself lucky." He said confidently.

"Oh really, now?" she said.

_Fairy Tale members have some hidden talents, I guess: Gray and his concert-level violin talent and Natsu and his ventriloquism._

Lucy immediately remembered Natsu. _No_. She remembered that she had to tell Gray the truth that she loved Natsu more and she was…_ sure_. It broke her heart to even think about it.

She looked at Gray. He was smiling smugly, yet innocently and by the looks of it, he looks extremely happy.

_I'm sorry, Gray. But this may be the last time._ She thought. _So while we still have it, I'll have to give you a really good time._

"So…" Lucy started and Gray looked at her, a smile still fashioned perfectly on his lips.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you still have anywhere you want to take me?"

* * *

Lucy was careful not to ruin her hair as she took off the helmet. It was already sunset and Gray took her to the beach near the hotel they were staying in. It was the same place where she had caught up with him two nights ago, when she was supposed to leave.

The lovely view of sunset wasn't new to her, as she'd seen it yesterday at the cliff with Natsu. The storm clouds, though, that seemed to be ready to pour anytime, was a dramatic touch. And the feeling it gave her was different. It was like a sad scene from a movie.

She and Gray sat side-by-side on the huge rocks nearby and were awkwardly silent with each other.

_You have to tell him now, Lucy. It's now or never._

Lucy gulped. Her heart beat fast and loud she could hear it. Her eyes felt like watering and it was just so sad to have to break Gray's heart.

_But it would hurt him more if I keep this up. It's just not him...right?_

Lucy heaved a sigh and she could only look at the helmet on her lap.

"Thank you for today, Gray." Lucy said shyly. "It was really fun."

"It was?" Gray asked, not looking at her.

Lucy nodded. "It wasn't my idea of a date. It was something new. But it was fun in its own way, though."

The ice mage chuckled. "But you can't tell the guys back at Fairy Tail that I can dance and play the fiddle, okay?"

The girl chuckled, too. She looked at Gray and replied, "Okay."

When their eyes met, they immediately locked; as if neither party could look away. For Lucy, it was fear that kept her from doing so. She was afraid that if she looked away, Gray would be gone.

Her heart pounded in her chest again. The butterflies in her stomach broke free and were now in frenzy. Gray's gaze was piercing: as if it melted her entire being; they implored, asked, begged—for something. Although his face remained blank, his eyes said it all.

Lucy was experiencing a really different feeling then. It was neither guilt, nor fear. It was something in between happiness and sadness. She could feel herself getting carried away; so much that her eyes started to water. And when she saw that Gray's face slowly advanced to hers, she closed her eyes slowly.

_This must be pity I'm feeling. It's so sad to hurt such a good friend like Gray. _She thought to herself. And she prepared herself for the kiss she knew would come.

But it didn't come. Instead, Gray's voice, so close to her ear, said, "I'm sorry."

Lucy's eyes opened white. Gray's hot breath tickled the area around her ear.

"I'm sorry that I love you."_**(see bottom comments!)_

Gray pulled away, as if refusing to even touch Lucy. The girl then started to cry.

"Gray…" she said.

"So I guess this is it, right?" Gray said. "We leave tomorrow."

"Gray…" repeated Lucy.

"I wish you a happy life, Lucy. I'm just sorry it can't be me." He added.

"You knew?" she asked. Her heart was now breaking in half.

"I figured. The fact that you were so hesitant to go this morning, you staring blankly into space every now and then: It was hard for me to miss."

"Oh, Gray…" Lucy said. Guilt was filling her up now and the tears just kept flowing. She was just so sorry for Gray that they couldn't be held back anymore.

"I'm really sorry that I gave you such a hard time. But today is the last day I can spend with you alone like this."

Lucy involuntarily shook her head. "Please don't say that…"

After taking a deep breath in, Gray stood up.

"Well, it's getting late. We'd better get back." Gray said and started to walk ahead of Lucy. "Wait here while I get my bike."

Lucy clutched the helmet and in defeat, said, "Okay."

* * *

The ride, although short, was extremely awkward. Both Lucy and Gray didn't speak. Only when Gray parked the motorcycle at the hotel's open parking space did they break the silence.

"Thanks… For everything…" Lucy said, giving the helmet back to Gray who hung it on his motorcycle.

"Yeah, sure. I'm really happy, too." He smiled, a smile Lucy figured, was fake and forced.

Lucy looked intensely at Gray in both pity and guilt.

"Oh, Gray…" Lucy said after a while and reached out to pull Gray in a tight hug.

However, Gray held her by both wrists and stopped her from doing so. Lucy was extremely guilty now and hugging Gray was the only way she could comfort him of the sadness she knew he was hiding.

"Don't…" he said. "Or I may not want to let you go."

"I'm really, really sorry." Lucy said, crying again.

"No… _I'm _sorry." He replied, wiping the tears that fell on Lucy's cheeks.

"You're a really great guy, Gray. Any girl would be lucky to have you." Lucy said.

"I know." The ice mage smiled confidently. "Too bad that lucky girl couldn't be you."

Lucy couldn't look at him at that point. Gray, then, forced the helmet back on Lucy's head, held it with both hands and kissed the top of the helmet.

"I'm really sorry it couldn't be me, either." A sobbing Lucy said.

Gray's kiss lasted for about a few seconds and when he broke the it, he turned his back, rode on his motorcycle and disappeared without saying goodbye, leaving a sobbing Lucy on her knees.

And at that moment, the rain began to fall.

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **I just realized two things while I was writing the cheesy and corny moments in this fanfic: One, it's only corny and cheesy because I was only writing. If it was me who was directly experiencing it, I would probably die; and two, I brushed my teeth twice tonight. The second time, I forgot I had already done it a while ago. Tsk…. Memory gaps. Anyway, what do you guys think? Does this really long chapter make up for my absence? **POOR, POOR GRAY! **_**R&R, please! Thank you!**_

_******_ This heartbreaking line is not mine. I saw it from a movie, "DoReMiFaSoLaSiDo" and I couldn't help but use it. Ugh, I'm still crying. Sob, sob, sob. Thanks for reading!


	18. Friends, Lovers or Nothing

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: Most of you probably want to kill me now, right? But before you go and sharpen your pitchforks, light up your torches and assemble an angry mob, I would like to say, "_I'M SOWIEEE…". _Honestly, college has gotten me all caught up and I can't even have any fun. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. By now, you must realize that it really takes me a lifetime to update. But worry not, I assure you that I WILL FINISH THIS FANFIC (and many others…) and that it will end happily—maybe.

* * *

**-CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: FRIENDS, LOVERS OR NOTHING-**_  
_"No…" he said. "_You _stay here."

The sound of the glass as it was being dragged across the table and the sigh that had followed made Mirajane stop wiping the counter and lay her head on it like Lucy was doing.

"You okay?" she said, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess." Lucy sighed, then sat up straight and looked around. After making a displeased and sad face, she sighed and forcefully banged her head on the counter.

"I think that's about the sixth time you sighed today." Mira said, taking a stool and sitting in front of Lucy. "You're not okay, are you?"

Lucy smiled weakly. "You know _everything, _don't you?"

"I do. And I think I know who you're looking for, though." She replied.

"Y-you do?" Lucy asked, flushing in disbelief.

"It's normal for girlfriends to look for their other halves." Mira said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Don't worry, Natsu probably just woke up late or something."

"O-oh…" Lucy replied.

"He'll be here, don't you worry your pretty little face." Mira assured, standing up and going back to wiping the counter table.

"B-but I'm not looking for Natsu." Lucy finally revealed.

Mira immediately snapped her head. "You're not?"

"N-no. I'm, uh… I'm looking for Gray."

"Why?"

"Because I haven't seen him since we went back here and I did something really awful to him and I wanted to say sorry." Lucy said, not holding her breath. Then, she looked up at Mira who was absolutely dumbfounded.

"W-well, if that's what happened…" she paused. "Gray has been a work-a-holic these past few days. The last job he went to was and purification mission on a mountain in the next city. He went there alone a few days ago so he should be back by now."

"I see, thank you, Mira." Lucy said and then stood up. "I'll be going now…"

"O-okay…" Mira said. "Be careful!"

Mira continued to do her cleaning when from behind her, a voice greeted, "Yo, Mira!"

Without even looking at the owner, Mira replied back, "Hello, Natsu."

"Lucy just went out, did you see her?" the silver-headed maiden said after a while.

"I saw her." Natsu said, looking at the huge wooden doors. "But I don't think she saw me… And we passed by each other, too! She looked like a zombie. Was something up?"

"Well, she was looking for Gray. She looked really sorry. Did something happen?"

"No…" the flame mage said, shaking his head. "At least, nothing I know about."

* * *

She _had _to see him. She just _had _to. So despite the heavy wind, the dark sky and the cold seeping through her skin, Lucy marched her way to Gray's place.

"Gray, I'm sorry…" she rehearsed. "No, that's a bit too blunt. Should I greet him first? Wh-what if he doesn't want to see me?"

Lucy stopped, then screamed. "I'm not even sure if he's home yet! Stupid!"

However, when she looked up, she found out that she was already in front of Gray's home. Breathing in deeply and mustering all the courage she could, Lucy knocked on the door.

"G-gray, are you there? It's me, Lucy."

No answer. Lucy knocked again.

"Gray, are you home?"

Still no answer.

"Maybe he's not home yet…?" she deduced.

Much to her surprise, she found herself twisting the door knob and opening the door, as if it was her house.

"I am a trespasser." She declared to herself, then called out, "Gray? The front door was open so I—"

Looking around, Lucy saw how much of a mess Gray's house was. Clothes that lay about almost covered the floor, there was a putrid smell that came from the table, dust was accumulating and the place seemed very cold—and lonely. But what caught Lucy's attention the most was that there about a dozen cases of alcohol near the fireplace, opened and empty.

"Men." She said to herself and unknowingly put her hair up and started to clean up.

* * *

It was growing really cold, and the cold woke Lucy up. Although she was already very close to the fireplace, she was still freezing. Looking out the window, she saw that the rain was still pouring.

While cleaning up Gray's place, the rain started to pour angrily and Lucy, having no umbrella, no keys and no energy, made herself at home, started the fire and started to sleep on the huge beanbag.

"It doesn't look as if it's going to stop soon…" she sighed, then put a blanket over her to keep warm. "Gray, where are you?"

_Clunk._

Lucy's stomach lurched and she turned her head swiftly. It sounded like metal over the wooden floor and it wasn't very friendly. She gulped. Without her keys, she wouldn't stand a chance! Why had she left them in the first place.

_Clunk_.

There it was again! Only this time, it was softer, more discreet; like a puma going for the kill. And the kill, unfortunately, was her.

Holding her breath, Lucy called out softly. "Wh-whose there?"

"Lucy?" a surprised voice said from behind the wall and out came Gray Fullbuster, soaking wet, holding an ice spear. "That was you?"

Lucy dropped on her weak knees. "Yes, Gray! It was me! You scared me half to death!"

"Well, you're the one trespassing. What're you doing in my house?" he asked.

"I was cleaning you dirty house! At least you could thank me…" she said.

"Well, thanks, you did a good job. So why are you still here?" he asked, having an idea in mind.

Lucy couldn't look at Gray. Saying 'Sorry' was easier said than done, after all. "I just came to see if you're doing fine."

"I'm doing just great. Is that all?" he said, suspicion in his voice—and the suspicion was threatening.

"N-no. Are you mad?" she asked.

"Mad—no." he said. "You know, stay here while I go and dry myself. Even an ice mage gets a cold."

"O-okay." She replied as she saw Gray enter one of the rooms.

"So, uh—" Gray started in a very loud voice to make sure Lucy could hear."—Why'd you think I was mad?"

"Uhm. No reason. It's just that I didn't see you in a while. Did the mission go well?" she asked, changing the topic immediately to avoid the awkward moment

"Uh, yeah. Pretty good." Gray said, the he went out of the room wearing dry clothes.

Lucy would've drooled over the fact that Gray was wearing a skin-tight shirt but she could see that underneath them were bandages wrapped over Gray's left shoulder and around his stomach.

"Gray, are you injured?" Lucy asked.

"Y-yeah. Of course, I am." Gray said, taking a step back.

Lucy pat the ice mage's shoulder out of reflex, and at this, Gray let out a soft cry of pain. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"What am _I _doing? What are _you _doing? Gray, you're hurt—bad!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's not like this is the first time that it happened, Lucy. This isn't the first time you saw me like this."

"But still… You should change your bandages because you got wet!" Lucy said in a loud voice.

Immediately, she attempted to run past Gray and look for the first aid kit she knew she had put somewhere when she was tidying up. However, Gray grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"What? You want to act like a man?" Lucy asked, pointing at his injuries.

"Yes, I want to act like a man." Gray snapped back. "What about you, what are you acting like? A friend? A parent?"

Lucy was tongue-tied. She just looked away in deep thought. "I'm your friend and as your friend, I can't let you—"

"A friend?" he chuckled. "If this is how you're a friend, then stop it."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy replied. "What do you mean, 'Stop it'?"

"_Don't do these things anymore._ I _can't _be your friend."

"What, just because I chose Natsu over you then it means that we can't do these things? I can't be your friend?" Lucy said loudly, almost screaming. "Well, I'm sorry if I care about you—"

"_Yes! That's exactly it!_" Gray finally said, putting Lucy to rest. "I hate it! I hate you choosing Natsu over me and going over to my house as if nothing happened. I hate the way you care about me, the way you talk to me… Heck, I even hate the way you smile at me!"

"What's wrong with what I do?" Lucy asked, tears accumulating in her eyes.

"It makes everything so confusing, Lucy! So _damn _confusing!" Gray said in a voice that was both sad and hurt. "You chose Natsu so why are you here asking for an apology?"

"I just thought that you'd be lonely and—"

"Well, yes. I _am _lonely. But that's how my life is. I grew up lonely and I'm going to _die _lonely. You know what, for a minute then, I thought you would actually choose me. But I was wrong. So I was preparing myself to get you out of my life but here you are haunting me. The least you could do for me was wait until I was ready to face you and your _boyfriend _again but how could you be so hard-headed? How could you be so _insensitive_?"

"Oh, Gray!" Lucy cried and wrapped her arms around Gray. Never had she seen Gray speak like that. So he _was _lonely. He had been hurting his whole life and she had hurt him even more. More that guilt, sympathy filled Lucy. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I was insensitive."

Lucy cried and embraced Gray, who was burning, even tighter.

"I told you not to do this…" Gray said in an empty tone.

Lucy cried even harder. "Please just let me be. This is all I can do for you."

"I told you before didn't I?" Gray asked. "I told you not to hug me because I might not let you go."

"What?" she said, looking up and broke the hug.

"I love you, Lucy. But you love Natsu. So why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Lucy asked. She still couldn't put her finger on what Gray meant.

"Friends, lovers or nothing." Gray said. "Of those three, which one are we?"

Lucy's mind was racing. It was telling her to say, _friends_, but she couldn't bring herself to say her. _Could it be that she _does _like Gray, after all_? "I don't know… I'm not sure!"

"Well, you're gonna have to make sure of it." Gray said, turning his back on her.

"How am I going to make sure of it?" Lucy asked. "I don't know what to do."

Gray faced her again and looked at her intensely. Lucy's heart was pumping real fast and her head felt like exploding as she saw Gray walking toward her.

"Don't move." Gray ordered in all authority.

He placed his hand on her cheek and slowly closed the distance between their lips until they almost met.

"Close your eyes." He ordered again and Lucy obediently obliged, as if Gray was in total control of the situation. Lucy felt his hot breath over the area around her lips, as if teasing her.

She could hear her heart beat and her ears throb with them. Despite the cold, Lucy felt very warm—hot in fact. Suddenly, her hand moved up and wrapped around Gray's neck. Her lips were about to touch his when Gray broke apart and held Lucy by the shoulders.

"Go home, Lucy." He said.

"What?" she asked, embarrassed. "Why?"

"I'm very tired. I want to rest for now." Gray said and he sat on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, checking his temperature. To her surprise, Gray was burning with what she knew was fever. "You're sick! Stay here, I'll go get some medicine and some fresh bandages for your injuries."

"No." Gray said.

"Gray, don't be so stubborn. Stay here." Lucy said.

Gray immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her down the floor with him.

"No…" he said. "_You _stay here."

* * *

Oh, my gosh! Did I just right that? **R & R please**! Once again, I'm very sorry. By now you might figure out that I am a slow updater. **PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!**


	19. Feelings

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: I got very good reviews so I'm updating again! Yaaay, for not procrastinating! And double Yaay for holidays! ^^ You guys are great! Love you!

**WARNING: **Since exams are coming up, I'm probably going on a hiatus. I'm sorry but I'll try to update again as soon as I'm ready with new ideas. 'Til then, I'll miss you guys…

* * *

**-CHAPTER NINETEEN: FEELINGS-**_  
__"I'm really trying not to fall deeper in love with you but with you being like this to me, I just may stop trying."_

Gray pulled Lucy down the floor in such a way that she would be facing him. Then, with eyes that implored, said, "No. You stay here."

He put his heavy head on her shoulder and his grip loosened.

"Stay here." He repeated.

"O-okay." Lucy muttered. Although very confused by Gray's sudden mood swing, she couldn't find it in herself to leave the poor guy alone especially when he's having a fever. But why _was _she doing this? Do friends normally do these?

_This is wrong. _She thought. _This is so messed up._

"What is happening to me." She said to herself.

"Why, what's wrong?" Gray said, lifting his head from her shoulder, the same emptiness filling his tired-looking face.

"_This_ is wrong. It's so _messed up_!" Lucy said, moving away from the ice mage.

"You think?" Gray asked, smirking weakly. "Now you see how confusing you make things?"

"I…" Lucy muttered. "I'm sorry…"

"You should leave…" Gray suggested, trying to stand up. However, his foot slipped and Lucy caught him just in time to keep him from falling over.

"I'm very sorry for making you so confused, Gray." Lucy said, helping Gray up. "I won't do it anymore."

The ice mage snickered. "Sure, whatever."

"So, um…" Lucy started, then took out a hand. "F-friends?"

Gray stared at Lucy's hand for quite a while before taking it with his. "Yeah, whatever you say."

"Take care of yourself, okay? I'll be leaving now." Lucy said.

What the feeling was, she seemed to know. But it was a feeling she had to deny. Who knows, it may just be fondness she feels and not love. Nevertheless, she should start thinking straight. Natsu was her boyfriend and Gray was her—boy friend; the space between the two words makes a big difference.

_Remember that, Lucy. Don't forget it._ She said to herself.

Then, without looking back, she ran off in the rain.

* * *

Lucy stared oddly at Natsu while he was looking away from her—veeeery far away. The two of them had met a while ago and were now sitting together at a park bench. Suddenly, Natsu pulled something from his back and held it really close to Lucy's face. It took a whil for the girl to recognize what it was, but when she did, she found herself wanting to laugh.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Giving you flowers, that's what." Natsu said, raising the bouquet closer to Lucy's face.

"I know that, but why?" she asked.

"No reason in particular." He replied.

Lucy, feeling very happy, took the bouquet. "Thank you. You've never been like this before."

"I know. I just wanted to try something new."

"By the way, I saw you come out of Gray's yesterday." Natsu said after a while.

"O-oh…" Lucy said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice. Somehow, Natsu was giving out a suspicious aura that she'd only discovered now—and it was scary.

So, trying to say things as calmly as possible, she continued. "I was visiting him. He just came back yesterday and I had to talk to him about what happened back at the resort."

"Luce, that was a very long time ago. Why'd you want to talk to him about that?" Natsu said.

"It wasn't a long time ago. It was just five days ago…" she defended. "And I was just trying to be a friend to him."

"Yeah, well, don't go there alone again." Natsu ordered.

"Are you mad? Are you jealous?" Lucy asked, surprised.

Natsu only stayed silent. "Of course, I'm not."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!"

"You think I'm stupid?" Lucy said, now feeling a bit underestimated. "It's written all over your face and yet you're trying to deny it!"

"Well that's because I'm _not _jealous!" Natsu said loudly, which was just a bit too loud for Lucy.

Suddenly, all was silent between the two of them. Neither spoke and the awkwardness was too much for Lucy to handle.

"I'm sorry for shouting, Natsu." Lucy said.

Natsu didn't answer which annoyed Lucy a bit.

"I was just teasing, then it got out of hand." She added.

"Yeah, well… Okay." Natsu said, standing up. "Just don't do it again."

_As if I was the one who started it! _Lucy thought to herself in disbelief. She was about to talk back when Natsu started walking away.

"Where are you going?" she asked. _How could this guy leave me in such cold air_?

"I'm going home, I don't feel so good. I want to sleep." He replied.

"Well, let me go with you!" Lucy said.

"No, it's okay." He replied. Then, before Lucy could even saying anything else, he ran off out of her sight.

"I can't believe that guy. He's this childish?" Lucy said loudly.

And she, herself, left.

* * *

"I can't believe that guy…" Lucy said again and again as she paraded across the streets of Magnolia. It was already a bit past sundown and Lucy tried to go for a walk and let the anger in her fade, but every time she remembers what happened, she just becomes more and more annoyed.

"I just _can't _believe that guy!" she said again, louder this time.

"Why? What can't you believe?" said a familiar voice.

Suddenly, a swirling cone of ice cream appeared in front of her.

"What can't you believe?" he said again.

After recognizing the voice, a smile split Lucy's downcast lips apart. She, then, took the cone from the man's hand and started to enjoy it.

"It's Natsu." She said. "He saw me coming out of your house yesterday and now he's jealous of you."

"No joke." Gray said, joining Lucy on her walk. "Have you told him that our status changed from 'It's complicated' to being 'Friends'?"

"He knows about that but I think he's just not entertaining the fact. You know the competition between you two. He's overflowing with pride!" she said. "Did you know that he was sulking when he left? I didn't know he was that childish!"

"Well, now that you know, it's better if you become more sensitive to him." Gray suggested.

"Why do I have to be the one to adjust?" Lucy complained. "It's not like I'm the guy!"

"You're not the guy but you're more mature that he is; you know that."

"You're right." Lucy said after a while. "What should I do, then?"

"Just keep up with him and try to change him. Immature guys like him don't deserve girls like you."

Lucy flushed. _Girls like me, huh?_

"And what happens if he _doesn't _change?"

Gray thought for a while, then answered. "Break up with him."

"What?" Lucy said loudly.

"It's not like you have any other ideas." Gray said then stopped walking while Lucy continued to do so.

When she realized that he wasn't following her anymore, she looked back and asked. "Why did you stop?"

Pointing to his right, Gray answered, "This is your house, isn't it? Aren't you going home, or do you still have somewhere else to go?"

Flushing, Lucy walked back to the spot where Gray was. Surprisingly, she was too engrossed in their conversation that she didn't even notice where they were going. Heck, she wouldn't even have noticed if they were already going out of Magnolia. And what was most surprising was, their 'comfortable' little talk seemed to erase all of the things that had happened between her and Natsu. Now, it was just so nice to be talking to Gray that she wanted to go on forever! Good thing or bad, she didn't know.

"S-sorry." She apologized. "I guess I got carried away."

"That's okay. You're the type to keep talking to the ends of the earth, anyway. I sort of got used to it by now." Gray joked and Lucy stuck her tongue at him.

"Well, bye!" Lucy said, grabbing hold of the knob.

"Bye." Gray said, and started to walk away slowly and coolly.

Suddenly, without even knowing why, Lucy turned to face Gray. "Do you want to stay for some coffee or something?"

Gray, who was still a bit close, stopped and turned to her. He looked at her with empty eyes that made her heart pit and pat.

"I mean, if you're not busy or anything." She muttered and Gray walked toward her slowly.

"We're friends, Lucy. But that doesn't mean that my feelings for you have changed." Gray started. "If I go in and have 'coffee or something', I'd be digging my own grave. I'm really trying not to fall deeper in love with you but with you being like this to me, I just may stop trying."

Lucy gulped at this sentence as she could feel her heart pump inside her chest. "I was just trying to—"

She stopped. _What _was _she trying to do_? She couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, she put an apologetic look on her face. How hard it must be for Gray to be nice to her while trying to suppress his 'feelings'.

"I'm sorry, Gray. I'm being insensitive again, aren't I?" she said.

Gray looked at her with all understanding and after a while, sighed. "Fine."

"What?" Lucy asked.

"I'll go in and have 'coffee or something'." Gray said while bending his index and middle fingers in the air.

At this Lucy's heart skipped a beat. Has she even cleaned up her room?

* * *

Ah, well, I'm on hiatus again… Tsk3…

See you guys in about… a while… T_T


	20. For Your Happiness

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: I'm just glad I can be lazy again since it's summer and exams are over and—ugh! I can update _at long last. _I know I've kept you guys waiting but, yeah… I'll stop talking and start writing… Enjoy!

**WARNING: **This chapter _could _suck. But, please read anyway… T_T

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY: FOR YOUR HAPPINESS-**_  
__"He hated it. He hated it all. But he…wouldn't do anything about it because he wanted Lucy to be happy. And if that had to happen at the expense of his own happiness… so be it."_

_Tok! Tok! Tok! _

Gray turned on his bed. _Stupid birds, pecking my window again._

_Tok! Tok! Tok!_

He turned again and this time, he covered his ear with his pillow. What is with those birds and his window anyway?

"Graaaaay!" called Lucy's voice.

Gray's closed eyes shot open and he immediately sat up.

"Ack!" he complained. His wounds weren't completely healed yet so it was strained when he moved about quickly.

"Graaaay, are you in here?" said her voice again.

Gray would blow up anyone's head if they woke him up but since it was Lucy, he'd make an exception. So he got up slowly, put pants on and went to the door.

"Graaa—"

"I'm coming! Geez…" he said. Then, he opened the door and in came a seemingly very excited Lucy in her signature blouse and miniskirt plus the boots. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, good morning, too…" Lucy greeted, eyebrows almost meeting. "I came to ask a favor from you."

* * *

"This—" she said, holding up a red dress on one hand, "—or this?" while holding a blue one on the other.

"Seriously?" Gray said, obviously _not _having fun.

Lucy had come to his house just that morning and dragged him to the clothes store to help him choose a proper outfit for her date with Natsu. What sucked wasn't only the fact that he was picking a dress out for her but it was for her and Natsu's date. Just thinking about it made him want to curse the latter for his luck.

"I'd go for the red one." Gray said inattentively, his head on his palm.

"But you're not even looking!" Lucy stomped her feet in irritation. "Which would look better on me, this one or this?"

Gray looked at her. _You look good even if you wear a year-old trashcan. _"I told you: the red one."

"You sure?" Lucy asked, Gray nodded.

"Why did you take _me _here anyway? Aren't girls like Mira good at this?"

Lucy stayed silent for a moment and just shrugged. "I guess your house was nearer? Besides, you have a bike."

"Liar." Gray teased as Lucy turned back and paid for the dress. "So let me get this right: it's your monthsary today and you're surprising him?"

"Uh-huh." Lucy smiled proudly. "I wanted to do something specia."

"But he's the guy; shouldn't _he _be the one to prepare things like this?"

"Weren't you the one who told me to be a bit more understanding of him since he's a bit immature?" Lucy snapped back, scolding with her words.

"Good point." He said, smiling. "But will he remember?"

"That's why I'm preparing." Lucy said, receiving her change from the cashier. "Because I don't think he did."

"That lucky bastard." Gray said under his breath.

"What did you say?" the stellar spirit mage asked.

"Nothing." He lied.

And they went out of the store to where Gray parked his bike.

"Where to next, chief?" he asked the girl.

"Uhm. Home. I want to cook for him." Lucy said, wearing the helmet.

"You can cook?" Gray asked, sarcasm in his voice. He got on his bike and started it.

"I'll try to." Lucy said, got on the bike and held on to Gray's waist for dear life as the ice mage drove away at top speed.

* * *

Gray blew on the red, viscous liquid on the spoon and put it in his mouth. His eyes widened as the taste spread in his mouth. The next moment, he went to the faucet and drank a lot of water.

"W-well?" Lucy asked, hesitantly.

Gray gasped, trying to catch his breath, then replied, "Remember when people say that your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die?"

Lucy, whose lightning-fast mind seemed to get what Gray was implying, simply opened her mouth in a smile of disbelief at Gray's joke. "Don't even say it, Gray Fullbuster. I know where you're going on with this."

"It's all true. I think I saw my mom." He continued anyway.

"Shut up." Lucy said, splattering the red soup toward Gray's direction. "I'm sorry I can't cook."

"Seriously, Luce." Gray said. "You're a girl, too."

"I just can't cook anything except hard-boiled eggs." Lucy said, smiling. Then she looked at Gray and said, "So?"

Gray looked at Lucy's eyes and after a split second, seemed to read what was on her mind. "That's also why you wanted me to come here?"

The girl sheepishly nodded.

"Mira can cook, too, you know?"

"But she's busy at the guild and everything."

"And I'm not?" Gray said. "Fine."

Gray stepped forward and put his hair, well some of them anyway, in a ponytail then grabbed the spatula and started to 'fix the soup' while Lucy just watched in awe at his new image.

"Have you always been this responsible?" Lucy said, watching Gray from behind.

"I dunno." Gray replied without looking. "I mean, _you _try living alone for as long as I've been."

Then, with one last dash of salt, Gray scooped some of the soup, now slightly orange, with the spoon and called for Lucy.

"Here, try it." He said, holding the spoon for Lucy.

"That fast?" Lucy smiled in amazement then reached for the spoon.

"Wait." Gray said before she could get it from him and he blew it for her. "Here you go."

"Wow, Gray!" Lucy said after tasting the soup. "You should really consider replacing Mira!" (Somewhere, Mira sneezed.)

"No way…" Gray said, removing the band from his hair. "So, do you need help with anything else?" Gray said.

"No." Lucy said. "I'll just go and buy food from some store. I've had enough of cooking."

"Well, I'd better leave before Natsu comes here." Gray said, turning his back and walking toward the door.

"Wait, Gray." Lucy said, coming after him.

"What?" he said, turning around.

"Thank you." Lucy said, smiling. She initially wanted to hug him but hesitated and, finally, did nothing.

Gray only smiled and pinched Lucy's nose. "Whatever."

"Oww!" Lucy complained.

Then Gray put his hand on her head and said, "Anything for you."

Surprised, Lucy only looked at Gray, wide-eyed.

"Go and change before he comes here on you looking like a—nevermind."

He, then, turned his back on Lucy and drove off back to his house.

* * *

Gray was thinking of Lucy's look before he was about to leave. _Priceless_. She looked extremely—cute.

_What could she be doing now?_ He asked himself, taking the bottle of beer to his mouth again and drinking from it. _Che. The more I think about it, the more disturbed I become._

He was there, sitting in front of the fireplace, drinking alone in his dark home. No. It wasn't a home. If it was, it wouldn't be that lonely there. It was a house. _Just _a house.

He took another gulp of the strong liquid from the bottle.

"So what now?" Gray asked himself.

He had honestly thought about going to sneak up on Lucy and Natsu's date but thought knew better. For the first time, Gray felt pity for himself: for not being able to do anything, for just staying behind the curtains while the play was going, for not being able to fight for Lucy. He hated it. He hated it all. But he couldn't—no—_wouldn't _do anything about it because he wanted Lucy to be happy. And if that had to happen at the expense of his own happiness, well, so be it.

_I'll just have to drink this away again, _he told himself putting the bottle's mouth to his but it was empty.

He put it away with all the other bottles he had drunk. One, two, three, four… Nine bottles in all.

_Well, that was all of dinner,_ he snickered then grabbed all the other bottles to take them outside.

Gray walked carefully. He knew he was a bit drunk so he moved as slowly as he could so he wouldn't trip. He was seeing double and that was bad. Opening the back door silently, Gray placed the bottles on the ground.

"Gray." Said a female voice.

Gray saw the girl's shoes in front of him. He looked up and saw the girl's face, who looked as if she was about to cry.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be—" Gray was surprised enough to sober up. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, Gray!" the girl said, hugging him by the waist.

"What happened? Are you okay?" he made her stand straight up and put his hands on her shoulder. "Are you okay, _Lisanna_?"

* * *

Was it crappy? I know, right? I'm sorry. I truly need inspiration. Anyway, (as always) _R & R please?_


	21. MEANWHILE

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: I don't even know why I'm still writing on the writer's block!

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: MEANWHILE-**_  
__"I could ask her the same question!" Lucy said loudly. "What is __she _doing in _your _house?"

Lucy had just finished lighting the last candle when someone knocked on the door—that someone being Natsu, her boyfriend. With a nervous sigh, she straightened herself, tucked the hair that was out of place behind her ear, cleared her throat and walked towards the door.

"Luce, it's Natsu…" the flame mage said from behind the door.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that." Lucy replied in a laugh-like manner. Then, after opening the door, Lucy greeted, "Hi."

"Hey, Luce." Natsu greeted back, surprised upon seeing how she looked. He looked at Lucy slowly from head to foot. Her red dress and red shoes; her hair neatly pulled up to a bun. Then, after taking everything in, he smiled. "You're very pretty, Lucy."

Blushing, Lucy replied. "Thanks. Come on in…"

Natsu went in and saw what Lucy had done to the place: the whole room turned into a date-perfect place with a great ambiance. The dining table, in particular, which was usually a circular wooden table, was now covered with white cloth. On it were two plates, spoons, forks, knives, wine glasses and candles. At the center of the table was a pot of beautifully-arranged flowers.

"Awwe, man." Natsu said apologetically.

"Happy monthsary!" Lucy greeted, taking Natsu's arm and putting her head on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have done this…" he said in the same tone.

Lucy felt that Natsu was very apologetic for forgetting so she hugged him by the waist and laid her head on his chest.

"You don't have to be so sorry, Natsu…" she started, then looked up at him. "I just wanted to do something for you. I don't really mind if you forgot."

"What?" Natsu said, perplexed. He, then, broke Lucy's hug and looked down at her while holding her by both arms gently. "But I didn't forget our monthsary _this time._"

"You didn't?" Lucy asked, as surprised as she could be. "Then—"

"The reason I'm so apologetic—" Natsu started "was because I didn't want you to waste any effort."

"Waste any effort? Why would I waste them?"

"Because…" he said, but didn't continue. Instead, he pulled something from his pocket and said, "You know what? I'll just show you."

He tied the thing from his pocket, a huge handkerchief, around Lucy's eyes, blindfolding her.

Pleasantly surprised, Lucy started to grope in the darkness she was in.

"What are you doing, Natsu?" she asked, grabbing Natsu's supportive arm and tried hard not to smile so widely. Never has Natsu tried to surprise her like this since the first time he had confessed.

"You'll know soon enough…" Natsu said in a sing-song voice.

* * *

Lucy adjusted her sight from being blindfolded. Who knows where her boyfriend had taken her? After she could see properly, Lucy couldn't believe what she was seeing: they were at the town square where she and Natsu had first met. The town square was surrounded by torches lighted gently, giving the place a bright orange color. At the center, there was a circular table set up professionally with the candle, the wine in the ice bucket—everything just like in a five-star restaurant.

Lucy was so surprised, she could only say "Ha!" while fighting back tears.

"Well?" Natsu said, putting his hands on her shoulders from behind. "Impressed?"

"_Very_." Lucy said, still smiling. "Where did—where did you get the money for this?"

She turned around to face him, then continued, "And how did you exclusively get this square? Is this even _legal_?"

"Don't worry. This is as legal as it could be. Mira helped with this one." Natsu explained. "May I?"

Natsu bowed low and held out one hand to Lucy which she took with her heart racing.

"Gladly."

Natsu led Lucy to the table where they sat down together. What surprised Lucy even more was that there was already food on the table.

"How did this get here? This wasn't here before!" she said, surprised.

"Do you believe in _magic_?" Natsu said as if they weren't mages, which made Lucy chuckle. "So, happy monthsary, Luce."

Lucy could feel her ears burn. _How could this guy make my name so special? For this, I forgive you for being an immature brat._

"H-happy monthsary…"

"Well, go on. Eat up." Natsu said, giving Lucy a big slice of steak. "I cooked that one. First time, too, so if you don't agree with the taste—"

"I'll eat it." Lucy said gently, looking gently at Natsu. _And _I _was ordering take-out, too._

She sliced the steak and took a small, feminine bite.

"Oh, wow. Is this really your first time cooking?" she said surprised. The steak's taste filled her whole mouth: it was sweet and sour and there was a strong aftertaste. It wouldn't compare to the ones Mira would make but for an amateur cook, Natsu's done quite a good job!

"Yeah, it is. Is it good?" he asked, in disbelief.

"Here." Lucy said, offering him a bite, too.

"Hey, yeah. I really _could _cook." He commented. "Well, go on and continue eating."

Lucy, however, did not take another bite. She was just looking at Natsu as he _devoured _the food in front of him. _I don't even know why I find you attractive._ To a normal girl, a loud, overly-complaining, gluttonous and weird guy like Natsu would never be found smart. He didn't show any sign of being intellectual and when he walks, he slouches. His fashion statement was weird, then again—almost everyone's was. Natsu was, however, very good-looking, but his attitude was just a bit babyish. As if everything was just a game for him. Maybe it was because he's hard-working and put gave his friends a very important role? After all, Natsu had put his life on the line for his friends countless times. Or maybe it was because the saying, "_Opposites attract_" held true. Whatever it was, it's making Lucy very flattered at that time.

"Whout?" Natsu asked, even though his mouth was still very full, noticing that Lucy _had _been staring the whole while. "Whout?"

"Nothing. Let me just stare at you." She gently said.

"Shtop shtaring, Lusche!" he said, food coming out of his mouth.

"Ew…" Lucy said, in between chuckles. "Here."

Lucy got a napkin and wiped the sauce all over Natsu's mouth.

"Seriously, the moment you start talking and _eating _and _destroying things_, you're handsome face isn't as handsome anymore." She commented.

"But that's why you chose me, right?" Natsu said, smiling. "Because the moment I start talking and _eating _and _destroying things_, I attract you."

"Ew!" Lucy jokingly said. "Narcissist Natsu!"

"Hey!" he said, smiling. "But really, Luce. Thank you."

"For what?" she said, still a bit busy wiping the stubborn sauce on his cheek.

"For this chance." Then, he took Lucy's hand that was wiping his face and held onto it tightly. "My second chance."

Lucy's heart flipped for a split second. "Everyone deserves a second chance, Natsu."

"Oh, by the way, make a wish." Natsu said, excited.

"What?" she asked, withdrawing her hand from his gentle grip.

"Make a wish and blow out this candle." He pointed to the red candle on the table.

"It's not my birthday." Lucy giggled. "Why?"

"This candle is special. It was a bonus reward from the last mission I went to. When you wish with all your heart in front of its flame and blow it, the smoke carries you wish to the gods and it's granted—or at least, that's what the old lady who gave it to me said." He said in a very lengthy explanation.

"You really believe in that stuff?" Lucy asked, sceptical.

"No." he replied plainly. "But it's not like you have nothing to lose, right?"

Natsu smiled at her so honestly that her heart melted slightly.

"Okay." Lucy said.

Breathing in deeply, Lucy thought of what to wish for. There's a lot of things, really. For one thing, she wanted to wish to become financially stable. She was running out of money and she will have to pay the month's rent again. Or she could wish to be able to use the full extent of her magic; that way, she'd be stronger and not have to be protected—that way, she _would _protect.

A lot of things were on her mind but then she saw Natsu's earnestly smiling face. That was when she knew what she wanted at that moment.

"I wish for everyday to be like this. To spend every day happily with the people I love." At this, she looked at Natsu.

"Luce." He said softly and Lucy smiled at him.

Breathing in deeply, Lucy prepared to blow out the candle but Mira's voice came from out of nowhere.

"Natsu! Natsu, help!" she cried.

Both of them turned quickly to the direction from which her voice was coming.

"Mira!" Lucy exclaimed, looking at Mira's bewildered face. She didn't know why but somehow, she felt both disturbed and relieved that Mira came with such a face; disturbed, because it meant that something bad happened and relieved, because she didn't blow out the candle.

"What's wrong, Mira?" Natsu asked at the silver-haired maiden now panting in front of them. "Something happened?"

"Natsu…" she started, trying to catch her breath. "Natsu, it's Lisanna."

"Why, what happened to Lisanna?" Natsu said in a worried tone.

"She left." Mira said. Then, she began sobbing. "Lisanna ran away and left."

"What?" the two chorused.

"Please help me find her. My brother is still on a mission and I don't know who to ask help from." Mira explained.

"Okay." Natsu agreed.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." Mira said, pertaining to their date.

"Don't worry about it." Lucy assured her. "Why do you think she left anyway?"

Mira hesitated at first but said after a while, "She's been very lonely since Natsu broke up with her. She didn't have the same smile and joy she's always had. She would lock herself up in her room and refuse to eat. Things got worse after you two returned to Magnolia. She hasn't returned since yesterday night. I thought she would return but—"

"Oh, my…" Lucy said, falling a bit guilty.

"Well, for now let's find her." Natsu suggested authoritatively.

"Why don't we split up?" Lucy raised.

"Good idea." Natsu said. "Luce, I'll go with Mira first. Can you start ahead of us?"

"Sure." Lucy said. "Be careful."

Natsu nodded then, after kissing Lucy on the forehead, left with Mirajane.

Upon being left behind, Lucy thought of the best and fastest way to go from place to place to find a person. _Virgo? Loki?_ Then, it hit her. Lucy took off her heels, tore her dress to enable her to run faster, then ran out of the square, leaving the candle on the table.

* * *

_Why does this path have to be so rocky anyway? _Lucy thought as she ran in a dark but familiar path somewhere in the outskirts of town. The pebbles hurt her foot, left some cuts on it, but she didn't mind. Even if she _stole _Natsu from her, Lisanna was her friend and she wanted to find her as much as Mira did.

Somewhere not so far away, Lucy found a small house, its windows emitting a bright orange light from the lit fireplace inside. She hastened her pace even though it hurt her in the process.

If there was one way to find someone quickly, it would be on a fast motorcycle. And if there was anyone in Magnolia she knew could ride a motorcycle _really _fast, it was Gray.

"Gray!" she said, pounding on his door. "Gray, open up!"

Lucy was bending down to wear her heels again because the ground was not only cold but also dirty when the door opened.

"Gray, you have to help. Lisanna is—"

"Lucy?" the girl Lisanna said. "What are you doing here?"

"Li-Lisanna?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy?" Gray said, coming from behind Lisanna.

For some reason, Lucy felt heavy inside her chest. _Why was Lisanna there? With Gray? And why was Gray topless? _Even though Gray had always been topless, the thought didn't occur to Lucy. However, the burning feeling inside her, the same feeling she felt when Natsu broke up with her, only a lot less suffocating, ignited. _What in the world could they have been doing in there?_

"Lucy, what are you doing here?" Asked a confused Gray, staring at Lucy's ragged look.

"I could ask her the same question!" Lucy said loudly. "What is _she _doing in _your _house?"

* * *

Tsk, tsk, tsk… Love, why you so complicated?

R&R much appreciated…!


	22. SOMETHING VERY FISHY

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK**: You'd probably want to kill me now but you can all do that later…For now, you can read on… I'm so sorry!

========================================================

**-CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: SOMETHING VERY FISHY-**_  
__"Lucy felt her face heat up. Gray just hit a bull's eye."_

Lucy glared at Gray; she looked at Lisanna. Somehow, the picture seemed so fishy… so—_wrong._ Lisanna and Gray? No… She just couldn't see it that way. But then, Gray had always been the playboy type. But wasn't Lisanna the one who went up to Natsu?

The stellar-spirit mage crossed her hands on her chest and leaned on the chair she was sitting on. On that circular table in the ice mage's house, the orange light from the fireplace enveloping the whole of the living room, she, Gray and Lisanna sat together silently, exchanging looks of embarrassment, query and suspicion (mostly from Lucy).

"You can talk now..." Gray said flatly to Lucy.

The mage only breathed in deeply before sitting up straight and leaning closer to Lisanna. "What are you doing here, Lisanna? Your sister is worried sick about you…"

"She was just looking for a place to stay." Gray replied for the girl, much to Lucy's annoyance.

"I'm not talking to you!" she said hotly—which surprised her. Gray hasn't done anything to make her angry—yet.

"Gray is telling the truth, Lucy." Lisanna said shyly, her head down. She looked as if she had been caught in the scene of a murder."I didn't know where to stay so for now, I'm staying here."

"You know, it won't take long before your sister comes looking for you here." Lucy said, taking Lisanna's hand on the table. "And you could always ask _me _for help, you know."

"I'm sorry, Lucy but I don't think it's something you'dunderstand." Lisanna started.

She thought for a moment, looked around until she rested her puppy-dog eyes on Lucy, then finally said, "Lucy, I have to tell you something. I'm gonna—"

_Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!_ The kettle whistled, signalling that the water for Lisanna's soup was already boiling. Lisanna, Gray and Lucy's heads immediately snapped to the kitchen's direction.

"I think that's yours." Gray said to Lisanna. The girl then excused herself politely and headed to the kitchen.

Immediately after Lisanna disappeared into the kitchen, Lucy and Gray's eyes glared at each other.

"What do you think you're doing hiding a girl like Lisanna in here?" Lucy whispered harshly.

"_She _came to_ me_." Gray answered as harshly back. "Why are you so upset about this anyway? Do I look that much of a bad guy to you?"

"Yes! Yes, you do!"

"That's the thanks I get for helping you out after all this time?"

"Don't change the subject!" Lucy snapped. "What's _she _doing here?"

"She's looking for a place to stay for the meantime." Gray impressed. "She's…very troubled right now."

Lucy felt like punching Gray in the face. What a _pervert!_ What a _flirt!_

There was a pause afterwards that was broken by Lisanna's entry carrying a tray with three bowls of hot soup. Lucy and Gray immediately stopped glaring at each other as Lisanna put one soup bowl in front of them. Gray gladly accepted his, blowing on his first spoonful. Lucy, however, went back to interrogating Lisanna.

"Anyway, Lisanna. You should really get back home. If you really don't want to, stay at _my _place." _Just don't stay here, _she said at the back of her mind.

"But…" Lisanna said, looking shyly away. Lucy felt as if there was something big on Lisanna's shoulders.

"Why? What's wrong?" Lucy said.

"Lucy, I'm—"

"Oh, wow! This is really good, Lisanna!" Gray exclaimed, cutting Lisanna off. He had just finished the whole bowl of soup. "Lucy, you should really take lessons from this girl!"

_I should really punch you later… _Lucy thought.

"Hey, could you get me a fresh bowl, please?" Gray asked rather nicely to Lucy, handing over the bowl to her.

"What? Why me?" Lucy said, a bit insulted and surprised at Gray's actions.

Gray didn't answer, however, and Lucy was forced into taking the bowl (_angrily_) from Gray's hand and stomping off to the kitchen.

"He just wanted me out of the scene so he could flirt with her…" Lucy said softly to herself.

She looked back at them and the scene _almost_ made her furious: Lisanna's sad smile was flashed at Gray who had one hand on her shoulder while the other was hidden from her view (_but she pictured it in her mind that the other hand was caressing her cheek_). Without wasting one second, Lucy refilled the bowl and started back to the living room to rejoin Gray and Lisanna.

But she stopped halfway. She turned around, took the bottle of fish sauce and poured all of it on Gray's bowl. _Then, _she continued happily back to the table where she gently put the bowl in front of Gray.

"What were you saying again, Lisanna?" she said, waiting for Gray to start with his soup again.

"Oh…" she said, with the same unsure face as before. "Gray and I have been talking—" at this, Lucy felt her ears twitch "—and I decided that I should go away for a while."

"Go away?" Lucy said, honestly disheartened. "Why? Is it something really big that you need to do it alone?"

"No! No!" Lisanna disagreed. "I just… wanted some time to think."

"Lisanna, if this is about you and Natsu—" Lucy said, then stopped after seeing the other girl's face just turn white… well, whit_er_.

"I'm sorry, Lucy… I just can't…" Lisanna said, looking as though she was going to start crying.

"It's really about you guys, huh?" Lucy said. The conversation felt weird to Lucy: do people usually talk about their boyfriends in front of their exes in that manner? That's not how things go in the novels she reads, though. They were a bit more dramatic and a lot less calmer.

The long silence that came between them was broken by Gray's deep sigh. Lucy looked at him. Apparently, he hadn't touched his second bowl of fish-sauce soup.

"You know what you need?" Gray asked Lisanna who turned to him and blinked.

"A…boyfriend?" Lisanna asked sheepishly.

Somehow, the conversation this time didn't feel so new to Lucy. It actually felt—nostalgic.

"Not what I had in mind but that could help, too." Gray smirked at Lisanna.

"Why? What do you have in mind?" Lisanna asked.

"You need a vacation." _He said it! _"I'll take you."

"What?" Lucy violently disagreed, her hand almost pounding the table. "No! Not with you!"

"What are you so jealous about, Luce? You were fine about it when I asked _you_."

Lucy felt her face heat up. Gray just hit a bull's eye. _So it was jealousy after all_, Lucy finally realized. Why hadn't she realized before? Or was she simply denying it? A lot of questions were playing in Lucy's mind but she didn't want to give them attention or she might end up realizing things she'd rather not.

"B…But…" Lisanna stuttered. "Will it be okay? I mean, my sister and the guild and—"

"That's why you should probably go with Lucy now and explain _everything _to your sister." Gray said to Lisanna, his eyes very demanding. Then he looked away and continued, "Then we can discuss the specifics of _our _vacation."

"Thank you, Gray…" Lisanna said, eyes watering and arms now clinging onto Gray's neck.

"W-well…" Lucy said, heart pounding in her chest. "We'd better go, Lisanna. It's been a long night."

"Okay." She obediently replied, letting go of Gray and standing up. "Thank you, too, Lucy."

"I'll walk you both." Gray said, standing up also and walking with them towards the door.

"No, thanks, Gray." Lisanna said. "I've given you much trouble for tonight. I'll be fine with Lucy."

"Oh…" Gray said, sounding rather disappointed. Lucy smirked at the back if her mind.

"Bye, Gray." Lisanna said. "Thanks again for everything."

"You're welcome." He replied as Lisanna walked ahead of the two of them. Lucy, however, intentionally stayed behind for a while and glared at Gray.

"Wh—what?" Gray asked nervously as if Lucy's suspicions between him and Lisanna were correct. Lucy only continued to glare.

"What?" Gray repeated, waiting for a reply. But instead of replying, Lucy gave him a punch on the ribs.

"Oww! What'd you do that for?"

"Payback!" Lucy replied as she made a quick dash after Lisanna, not even looking back at the poor ice mage clinging to his ribcage. "See ya!"

==============================================

Why is summer still a busy time for me?

For those who don't get tired of reading this, waiting very patiently for an update, I'm so sorry for being so tardy. I'm just experiencing…_difficulties _right now. But no worries, it's nothing we can't handle. Good news is, I'm _definitely _gonna finish this and probably a new story? Hm… Haven't gone that far but please pray for me and my family.

Thank you and God bless you guys!


	23. Why Not?

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Wrote this in about four hours? Yeah… It's because you guys are amazing and totally know how to love! I love you guys! If we knew each other, I'd totally treat you to ice cream… Yum! Who wants ICE CREAM? And at LAST, the HORIZONTAL LINE THING WORKS AGAIN! HOORAY!

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: WHY NOT?-**_  
__"But then again, why not?"_

Lucy was sitting on the tall stool, her feel barely touching the floor and her legs were dangling forward in backward in a playful manner as Mira, the housekeeper, was sweeping the floor of the dining room they were now in.

It was Lucy's first time in Mira, Elfman and Lisanna's house. The house was a two-storey house whose doors, chairs, tables and other furniture were higher than average, probably because Elfman was a big—err, tall. Mira was kind enough to make her a second batch of breakfast as she waited for Lisanna to finish packing.

Two days ago, Gray had gladly and generously invited Lisanna on a ten-day trip to some resort away from Magnolia. Since Lisanna looked as if she really needed it, Lucy had to agree, even though she didn't want to hear Gray, Lisanna and trip in one sentence. Call it jealousy or concern, Lucy just wasn't comfortable with the idea.

"Lisanna!" Mira's sweet voice loudly called out.

"I'm almost done! Just packing all of my things!" Lisanna called back from one of the second-floor rooms.

"Well hurry up!" Mira, then, turned to Lucy. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I hope you don't mind waiting this long."

"Oh, not at all!" Lucy said, finishing her cup of coffee. "As long as I get free breakfast, that's really fine…"

Lucy flashed the widest, most grateful smile at Mira who stopped her sweeping to look gently at her.

"It's really nice of Gray to cheer my sister up in her…time of need." Mira said, not looking away from Lucy.

"Yeah…" the stellar spirit mage replied almost sarcastically. "I just hope he doesn't have any ulterior motives…"

"Lucy, are you sure about Natsu?" Mira suddenly said changing the subject, much to Lucy's surprise.

_Did Mira just say what I think she said?_ "Why do you say that?" _Just a few days ago, you were rooting for the two of us._

"N-nothing!" Mira said, waving her hand in denial. "I was just thinking, 'Why Natsu?'"

Lucy just shrugged her shoulders.

"Why not Gray?" Lucy flinched when Mira said this, "Or Loki or that guy Jacques? Surely, there must be other men."

"Why? Is there something wrong with Natsu?" Lucy asked, a bit insulted at Mira's persistent statements.

"Well…" Mira said, shying away from the girl, "He's a very…_complicated _person, Lucy; with a very complicated past and personality."

Lucy's eyebrows involuntarily met. "Is this about Natsu and Lisanna, Mira?"

"N-no! Of course not!"

"You're a bad liar…" Lucy sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Mira but I'll only break up with Natsu if he steps on the line the second time… But for now, he's actually doing a good job… And I… I love him…"

The last statement made Lucy flush.

"Do you really?" Mira asked. "Or is that companionate love?"

Lucy involuntarily gulped. She was actually speechless. How could Mira actually ask her that question—and make her think?

"I'm ready!"

Lisanna was now walking—err, limping—down the stairs with her huge suitcase and a sling bag. She huffed and puffed as she struggled down the stairs.

Mira, being the nice, thoughtful sister she was, dropped the broom she was holding and (_frantically_) ran to help her sister. "You shouldn't be carrying really heavy things! Give me that…"

Lucy, too, walked towards the siblings to help them out. "Is this everything, Lisanna?"

Lisanna cutely nodded. "Yep! Thanks for waiting, Lucy. I'm so glad to have a friend like you."

The girl only smiled in reply to this. She _really did _treat Lisanna as one of her treasured friends. That's why she'd do everything to keep her pure—safe! The right word is safe! And the _closest_ she'll get to making sure Lisanna was safe in their trip was to take her to the train station. That was _it_….

Or _was it?_

* * *

Gray watched as the scenery on the window melted into streaks of green, brown and black. The only thing that _didn't _seem to move was the sky…and Lisanna's head on his shoulder.

They had been travelling for almost two hours and the tired Lisanna leaned on his (_muscular_) shoulder and made it a pillow. He just didn't get how she'd be comfortable with that. Then again, there were a lot of things he didn't get.

Like why Lucy and Natsu were on the same trip, on the same train, on the same cabin he and Lisanna were in. It was the same cabin he and Lucy rode in when he took her to the resort. Only this time, they switched seats.

"Tell me again why you're here?" Gray asked, a bit annoyed. Not only was Lucy and Natsu's presence a bit of a _distraction _in their trip, it'll also give him a lot more to pay for. He wouldn't mind paying for Lucy but Natsu… Well, he's on his own.

Lucy cringed. She kept on squeezing a ball as she glared back at Gray. "I also wanted a vacation. Why? I can't?"

"Does it have to be with us?" he said coldly. Apparently to Lucy, he didn't want them on the trip _at all._

"It was the easiest way in since you already had it planned. Don't worry. We'll be paying for our own expenses."

"Right. And you're not forgetting that _I _was the one who paid for the train tickets?"

"Natsu and I weren't ready. It was an on-the-spot decision."

"You really wanna ruin this trip for Lisanna?"

Lucy dropped the ball and it rolled under Lisanna and Gray's seat. _How rude was that! _She only wanted to make sure that Lisanna was safe!

"Well, I'm sorry, Gray. If you _really _didn't want us in on this, you should've just dragged us out of the train! Don't worry, we'll reimburse the train ticket fare and go back to Magnolia after we get there if that's what makes you happy."

Lucy was _furious! _Gray was actually _convincing _her to get back to Magnolia for _Lisanna's sake! _She looked away, breathing in and out angrily.

"Awwe man, Luce." Gray said apologetically. He was actually _flushing! _"Don't get me wrong. I _do _want you on this trip."

He pointed Natsu, who was lying on his stomach on the floor, unconscious, using his lips. "It's him I'm worried about. They didn't exactly have a clear closure."

"Oh…" Lucy said apologetically. She was actually being insensitive, not putting Lisanna's feelings in perspective. She was just selfish. "I'm sorry."

Gray sighed and said after a while, "Just make sure to keep that guy in check."

A long silence came between the two of them. The silence was so deafening that Lucy's eyes travelled to every corner of the cabin. Then, Lucy noticed that there was a writing at the farthest corner of the window, just a little bit hidden by the curtains. It read: '_The Fantastic Gray-sama's Victorious Elemental-Capture Mission'_

"Oh?" She eyed Gray who was surprised at her suspicious grin. "The '_Fantastic Gray-sama'?_"

"Oh, that…" Gray smiled. "I always write the most memorable things that happen to me whenever I ride in this cabin. Didn't you notice?"

"Really, now?" Lucy said, grinning even more widely. "I bet you also wrote my name somewhere around here, didn't you? That's why you said you wanted me on this trip! Gray, you actually secretly love me, don't you?"

Lucy looked at Gray and realized that her joke wasn't very funny.

"S-sorry…" she said, flushing. "I've guess I'd have to keep my mouth in check, too."

Gray chuckled while looking at Lucy's apologetic face. "Come here."

"What?" Lucy asked as she obediently went near Gray. "Why?"

He pinched Lucy's nose. "Go and get that ball from underneath my seat."

"O-okay." Lucy said, blushing for some odd reason.

Gray moved a bit to the side to give room to Lucy who was having trouble finding the ball. Who knew the space under the seats were actually a bit wider that they seemed yet a bit too narrow to make Lucy fit in?

"Gray, I can't see it…" she complained, groping in the dark and dusty place. "Can you hand me a light?"

"Sure…" Gray said, moving Lisanna's head and handing Lucy a matchbox.

"Thanks."

Lucy lit one match and moved it from the rightmost corner to the left in search for the ball she'd bought for Natsu. The small, cramped space she was in wasn't comfortable at all so as soon as possible, she wanted to find it and breathe dust-free air. The crew really had to do some cleaning there. She saw a lot of things as she moved the lit match from right to left. There were dust, cobwebs, her name and few strange things that lay forgotten! And there was the ball she'd been looking for.

_Wait_.

Lucy moved the match back to see if she read right.

And she was.

Underneath Gray's seat was another writing, '_Lucy Heartfilia sat here.'_

"Hey, you're taking a suspiciously long time under there. You still alive, Luce?" Gray asked.

"Y-yeah…" Lucy said, taking the ball then—after bumping her head—went back to her seat.

Lucy flashed the image of the writing—Gray's writing, she assumed—in her head. _The most memorable things, huh?_

She looked at Gray who was now back at staring outside the window and remembered Mira's suggestion. She smiled for a while, but shook her head after remembering that she actually had a boyfriend named Natsu Dragneel.

"No. Definitely not!" she whispered, then looked back at the ice mage.

_But then again, why not?_

* * *

You guys are just great! Have I told you that? You have so much love to give!

Keep spreading the love, people!

God bless you all!


	24. Conversation

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: CONVERSATION-**_  
__"You're so slow."_

Lucy looked around at the familiar room she was now in. It was the same room she had been waking up in everyday a few weeks ago when she was really down. The huge queen-sized bed was still there at the leftmost corner of the room with a small table beside it. The sliding door which was the entrance to the veranda was opened and it exposed the beauty of the shore outside. On the left side of the sliding door was a small oak cabinet where she will have to put all her stuff in later. On the right side of the cabinet was the small living room with couches, a small table and two potted plants. Lucy smiled. The same homey feel was there except that the curtains and the bed sheets were different this time.

She entered the room, checked the bathroom then arranged her stuff in the cabinet. She had remembered doing this same thing a few weeks ago. She was very excited, too, to finally be able to wear her two-piece bikini. After putting all her stuff away, she went outside to lean on the veranda and maybe absorb a bit of sunshine.

Upon stepping on the veranda, the gentle sea breeze touched Lucy's skin and the strong smell of salt entered her nostrils, as if tempting her to jump into the water; she smiled. Although it was a spontaneous decision to go there, she didn't regret a thing. Who knew she wanted another vacation? Who knew she was still a bit stressed—for some reason?

"_Psst!"_

Lucy looked to her side. There, at the veranda of the room next to her, leaning on the railings, was Natsu, smiling widely at her as if a kid in his first trip to the beach.

"It's really nice here, huh?" he said. "I'm glad we came."

"Me, too." Lucy said honestly. "I'm just sad Happy couldn't go. It would've been more fun."

"Yeah, it would've…" Natsu said, looking very sad. "But it'd be good for him to stay with Wendy while I'm away."

"It would." Lucy said. "Well, I'm gonna go down to the beach. Wanna come with me?"

"No." Natsu said, much to Lucy's surprise. "I can still feel myself in the train so Im'ma rest for a while."

"Okay."

Lucy changed her clothes, took her wallet, her keys then opened the door—where Gray Fullbuster was with a knuckle raised as if to knock on her door. Surprised, Lucy was taken aback.

"H-hey. You scared me." She greeted.

"Really, now?" Gray said, putting his hand down. "You all settled in?"

"Y-yeah." She said then went out of her room and closed the door behind her. "You?"

"Almost. I've just finished helping Lisanna unpack. She brought her whole house!"

Lucy laughed at this. "You should've guessed by the size of the suitcase she brought. Where's her room?"

"In front of yours. And in front of Natsu's is mine," he said.

"I'm gonna go to the beach. You wanna come with me?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Gray agreed, which made Lucy very happy. "I'll call Lisanna."

* * *

"I love this _daaaaaaaaaaaaaay!_" Lucy exclaimed as she ran toward the shore in her two-piece bikini. "C'mon, c'mon!"

Behind her, Lisanna, Gray and Natsu walked lazily together after her; Lisanna was also in her bikini while Gray and Natsu were in their swimming trunks and floral-print tops. It was noontime and after convincing Natsu to wake up, all four of them headed to the beach. However, because of the five-hour journey, all of them were tired and had no extra energy to burn—except Lucy.

"She's very energetic." Lisanna commented, not knowing if she should be glad or scared at Lucy's hyperactiveness.

"Well, not all the time. Sometimes, she just collapses and becomes lazy as a sloth." Natsu said.

Lisanna smiled at him and, realizing it was the first time they talked casually after breaking up, looked away rather nervously.

"You're not still angry about what happened, right, Lisanna?" Natsu said.

"N-no…" Lisanna said in a small voice. "At least, I don't think so."

"Oooookay…" Gray said, feeling completely out of place. "I'll give you two some time alone."

Gray ran ahead of them towards Lucy and left Natsu and Lisanna to talk.

There was a very long and awkward silence between the two which Natsu broke by saying, "So you _were _angry."

"I _was_." Lisanna said. "But coming here, I realized I need to appreciate the time I have left—not by living in the past."

"I'm sorry, Lisanna. I know I was a jerk."

"I-it's good to know that… that you're aware of that." She said nervously.

Natsu looked at her, surprised. "That jerk taught you that, didn't he?"

Lisanna blushed and denied. "N-no!"

"It's okay." Natsu said, patting her head and making her blush even harder. "There're still a lot of things I need to make up to you."

"You really don't need to, Natsu," she said. "I don't have the right to have you do that."

"But I _do _have to." He said. "And let me start by doing this…"

Natsu held out his hand to Lisanna and smiled widely at her. With one shaking hand, Lisanna took his and she cried.

"H-hey, what'd I do now?" he said, frantic and not knowing what to do.

"Nothing… I'm just very happy to have had this talk with you."

"But all we did was shake hands." Natsu said.

"Exactly what I'm thankful for," she said. "Natsu, I have to tell you something..."

* * *

Gray headed reluctantly towards Lucy. He felt that he ought to give them some time alone to talk. It was, after all, the reason why he agreed to have Natsu come with them in the first place. It was the least he could do for Lisanna to actually _feel _better: _closure_.

"Yo." Gray greeted a blank-faced Lucy, staring at Natsu and Lisanna behind him.

Lucy did not give him a reply, let alone a grunt or a stare.

Gray looked behind him, then at Lucy. Smiling, he pinched her nose, as he usually does. "Don't worry, there's no need to be jealous."

Lucy took Gray's hand and put it down.

"But I'm not jealous!" she said.

"Yeah, you're not... " Gray replied sarcastically. "You should really practice on your lying skills. You're a bad liar."

"I don't even know if that was a compliment or an insult."

The two of them continued to watch Lisanna and Natsu who looked as if they were talking about something _really _important: as if somebody was going to _die_. Then, Natsu grabbed Lisanna's shoulder and the girl looked as if she was going to cry as she looked down at her feet. The flame mage, then, took her hands-both of them-and said something that Lucy couldn't lipread.

Lucy felt her heart rap in her chest a bit faster than normal.

"Ow!" Gray exclaimed.

"What happened?" Lucy said, forgetting about what she'd just witnessed. "What?"

Gray shook his right arm. "You gripped my hand too hard."

"I-I did?" Lucy asked, embarrassed. Apparently, she didn't let go of Gray's hand from when she put it down from pinching her nose. "S-sorry."

"You know, if you really trust Natsu, you shouldn't even be jealous that he's talking with another girl." Gray exclaimed.

"But being jealous is normal in a relationship. I'm not even as jealous as I used to be."

"Wow! That must be a big step forward for you!" he commented sarcastically again.

"You're not even trying to help me, idiot! You're not making me feel better!"

"_You're _not the one who I'm supposed to be entertaining right now, remember? So I don't have the single obligation to do so."

"Meanie!" she pouted, then turned away from him, arms crossed, in disgust.

Gray poked her sides a bit painfully. "Who's the meanie?"

"Hey! That hurt!"

Gray did it again. "Who was it?"

"_You, _obviously." she said. "Ow! _Hey-_stop that!"

"Are you pissed at me?" he grinned sinisterly.

"Yes! _Ow! _Who wouldn't be? _Owww!_"

"You're more pissed at me _now _than you were jealous at Natsu?"

Lucy stopped to stare at Gray. _Gray pissed me off intentionally so that I'd forget about that. _

"Gray..." she said in a puppy-dog tone.

"What?" Gray replied, imitating her tone.

"Th-"

"Let's just go to the beach. That's what we came here for." Gray said, cutting her off and placing his hand behind her back and pushing her toward the beach.

"Gray..." Lucy said softly.

"Hm..."

"Why are you always making ways to make me feel better?"

Gray continued to push her but didn't give her a reply.

"C'mon, Gray. Why are you so nice to me?"

"If I give you a blunt answer you're not gonna take it," he said in a very stern tone with no spark of wanting to be humorous whatsoever.

Scared, Lucy replied, "Ooookay... Then give me a 'round-the-bush answer."

Gray thought for a while then said, "You already know the answer. I already told you."

"I don't get it." she said. "C'mon just tell me."

"I told you, you won't be able to take it."

"Well, you told me you liked me and I took it very well," she said. "C'mon, tell me. Do I owe you anything?"

"Well, there you have it."

"What?" she said. "I have what? I don't get it."

"You have the answer."

"What?"

"You're so slow." Gray, then, saw that Natsu and Lisanna were already walking back to them and left Lucy by the shore.

"What did he mean when he said that?" Lucy asked, going through what she had said.

"Hey, Luce. What's up?" Natsu said, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Ah!" Luce said, blushing. "I've got it!"

"You've got what?" Natsu asked Lucy.

"I _owe Gray something!_"

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Okay, Lucy is just so slow! HE LIKES YOU, STUPID! Who writes this thing, anyway? what kind of- oh, yeah... I do...

By the way, as to Lisanna's 'condition', some of you made guesses and stuff. Hahaha! I'm a bit predictable, aren't I? Hahaha! Anyway, let's not spoil the party and wait for the answer to come out of Lisanna's mouth-or mine-or Gray's-or Mira's.

Ciao, everyone! God bless and please be patient with me more! I LOVE YOU GUYS! MWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

PS, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!


	25. SUSPICION RISING

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: SUSPICION RISING-  
**_"I know." Gray said. "Lucy, we need to talk."**  
**_

Gray put his hand on Lisanna's back and began to push her away from Natsu, who was now approaching Lucy.

"So, how did the conversation go?" he asked a flushing Lisanna.

"It went well, I guess…" she replied.

"It looks that way, seeing that he doesn't seem to be the least bit shocked or scared," he commented. "Did he say anything? About what he's planning to do now?"

"N-no…" Lisanna said. "Unfortunately not."

Apparently, whatever Natsu said didn't satisfy Lisanna's expectations. _I don't think it does any good to me, either._

"What about Lucy? Did she say anything?"

"No." Gray said flatly. "Except that she got pretty jealous but I don't think it's anything we should be worried about."

"What?" Lisanna exclaimed, turning to Gray all of a sudden then losing her balance and tripping.

"Woah!" Gray said, catching Lisanna in his arm. "Careful there… We don't want you to get any more injured than you _already are_."

"Thanks…" she said. "But that's not what we're talking about here! I don't want to hurt Lucy!"

"Well, you're gonna have to sooner or later."

"How can you say that?" Lisanna said. "I don't want to do that!"

Gray put held Lisanna's shoulders and lowered his head in such a way that his face was in front of hers. Then, with a very stern voice he said, "Lucy isn't as weak as you think. As long as we break it to her gently, she'll be fine. A bit hurt, maybe, but she'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Lisanna asked. "I don't want to end up being the bad guy here."

"Just take care of yourself." Gray said, letting Lisanna sit on one of the benches by the seashore. "We'll take everything little by little, okay?"

"Okay." Lisanna said, worried about how things will go from that moment.

Gray, then, took his top off and put it over the girl's head. "Don't you worry… It's bad for the health…"

Then he turned his back and walked towards the beach.

* * *

"I owe Gray something!" she exclaimed, then turned around to look at the ice mage.

Lucy watched Gray as he pushed Lisanna towards the shade of the palm trees. They looked as if they were talking casually to each other then Lisanna turned around swiftly and tripped in a way that Gray would catch her by the waist with his arm.

For some reason, a strong sting rose from Lucy's chest to her nasal cavity; as if she had eaten something unpleasant. It was the same feeling she had when Natsu and Lisanna were talking and she knew very well what that feeling was—_jealousy._

She scrunched her forehead in disgust. She could forgive herself for being jealous at Natsu and Lisanna but _Lisanna and Gray? _She just doesn't have the right.

"Maybe it's not jealousy…" she said to herself. "It's _concern; _concern for Lisanna's well-being."

She turned her gaze to the two again, Lisanna now already sitting on the benches and Gray was—_Gray was leaning toward her, his face only a few inches from her and his hands were on her shoulders!_

Lucy just felt like punching Gray in the face. That pervert! That shameless guy taking advantage of a lonely girl and her emotions to toy with her! How dare he!

Lucy was now practically burning. She was aware that her eyebrows were already meeting at the center of her forehead and that her mouth was slightly pursed when Gray came toward her with a blank face.

"What's making you so mad, Luce?" he said, greeting her. "You can't possibly be still jealous at Natsu and Lisanna…"

"You're getting _waaaay _too clingy to Lisanna, aren't you?" she said flatly. "Is this the reason why you took her here? To _flirt _with her?"

"What?" Gray said, looking at Lucy then Lisanna, then back at Lucy again. "What are you talking about?"

"You being awfully caring about her: what's that about?"

"You're jealous about that?"

"I'm not jealous! I'm just—" Gray laws now smirking at her. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." He said in a very confident manner, though Lucy didn't know what he was confident about. "Just that I'm starting to wonder whether you did the right decision by choosing Natsu over me."

"How dare you!" she said, a bit insulted. _Is he doubting my judgement?_

"And speaking of Natsu…" he said, dragging her by the arm towards a Natsu who was now staring blankly into space. "Hey, Natsu!"

Natsu jerked at this statement and he turned around looking pale as an anemic person. "H-hey, Gray… Hey, Luce."

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Lucy said. "You look pale."

"I'm fine, Luce. Just a bit woozy from the train ride."

"I know what you need…" Gray commented, putting his arm around Natsu's neck in a painful way and dragging him. "Let's go fish."

"What?" Natsu said unenthusiastically. "You do it. I'm not in the mood."

"Chicken."

"What did you say, snowcone?" Natsu said, breaking away from Gray's grip and pushing him back.

"Nothing…" Gray said coolly. "Coward."

"Oh, that's it! You're on!" Natsu said, immediately diving into the water and disappearing from the surface.

"Well, Luce. I guess I'll see ya later…" Gray said, giving Lucy a goodbye-salute, then following Natsu into the water.

Lucy sighed and, seeing that she would not be able to do _anything _there, went back to shore and joined Lisanna.

"Hey, Lisanna." She greeted the silver-haired maiden who was now wearing Gray's top. "Aren't you going for a swim?"

"Aren't you?" she asked, moving to the left to give Lucy a seat beside her. "I'm a bit tired from the trip so maybe later."

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"Is there something going on between you and Gray?" Lucy asked, her heart throbbing for some reason.

Lisanna looked perplexed at the question and looked at her wide-eyed, but not the reaction that says she had something to hide. It was a reaction that says '_What are you talking about?' _in a very innocent way.

"What are you talking about?" _Yeah, just like that._

"I mean, did you two become lovers overnight or do you have something going on or—"

"We don't." she said immediately. Still, this statement was made with all innocence.

"You know, you don't have to hide it from me." She insisted.

"But I'm not hiding anything from you…" she said, then almost immediately followed up with "You like Gray, don't you?"

Lucy felt herself move away from Lisanna with her head spinning and her heart pounding in her chest extra fast. "How could you say that?"

"So you do…" Lisanna said, slightly smiling.

"Well, yes, I do…" she said. "But not romantically. I like him only as a friend."

"You're mouth says that but your body says it in another way." Lisanna replied, her smile widening.

"How can that happen when I'm obviously in love with my boyfriend."

Lisanna's face, then, from the bright and bubbly face, turned into a sad and guilty one as she looked away from Lucy.

"Lisanna? What's wrong?" Lucy said, comforting Lisanna by putting her hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Lucy, about Natsu…" she started, "Are you sure about him?"

At this, Lucy's eyebrows met again. "How can you say that, Lisanna?"

"I…" she started. "Please don't be mad."

Lisanna looked as if she was going to cry as tears were now accumulating in the corners of her eyes and her mouth started to quiver.

"Gray told me not to tell you but Natsu's done… _something."_

"What something?" Lucy replied, her suspicion arising. At first, she was thinking long and hard about what it could be. She searched her mind for possibilities. Then a painful yet very impossible thought occurred to her. "Lisanna, are you, by any chance, _dying_?"

"Wh-what?" Lisanna asked in the same innocent tone as before. "Lucy, I—"

"Lisanna!" Gray and Natsu's voice chorused from the seashore.

Both Lucy and Lisanna turned to their direction and the two came running towards them, worried looks on their faces.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Gray asked Lisanna anxiously. "Are you crying?"

"What happened?" Natsu asked Lucy, then turned to Lisanna. "Are you alright? Lucy, what happened?"

"I don't know…" Lucy said. "I didn't say anything. I'm sorry, Lisanna."

"It's okay, Lucy. I—" Lisanna suddenly came falling down and she was caught by Natsu this time.

"Hey, you okay?" he said.

"Y-yeah… A bit woozy… Just tired, I guess."

"You'd better go back to the hotel room. We can have fun tomorrow when we've all rested." Gray said.

Natsu took Lisanna by the waist and guided her toward the hotel while Lucy, looking as pale as a murderer caught red-handed, and Gray stayed behind.

"Gray, I _swear_ I didn't do anything." She said defensively. Who knows what's going on in a Gray Fullbuster's mind?

"I know." Gray said. "Lucy, we need to talk."

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I don't know… I guess I'm just not good at endings and such… sorry if I let you down with this one… Frankly, I'm not satisfied…

R&R, please? Thanks and God bless you!


	26. Rising Action

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I've surpassed my 200-story reviews mark thanks to you guys! You're the best! Keep R&R'ing!

**WARNING: **Be warned of very long narrations. Please don't miss any of it. _**SERIOUSLY. DON'T.**_

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: RISING ACTION-  
**_"...and it was coming from Lisanna who was now falling down the stairs..."_

"_I don't understand, Gray. What in the world is going on?" Lucy asked, grabbing Gray's shoulder from behind and pulling him so he'd face her._

"_Right now, Luce, you'll surely not understand. So take my advice: stop asking Lisanna so many questions."_

Lucy groaned as she turned in her bed to face the ocean view outside. After the conversation she and Gray had… No. It wasn't a conversation. It was more like Gray was the only one talking. What did she do wrong to Lisanna anyway?

"_She's in a very confusing situation right now, Luce so if you really care for her maybe you should be less jealous and more sensitive."_

Insensitive? Wasn't _he _the one being insensitive? After all, Lisanna had his attention and Natsu looked as if he was suddenly her baby sitter.

She groaned again. Yesterday wasn't as fun as she'd hoped for. Hopefully, today would be better. That today, the fun she was looking for would be there.

Lazily, Lucy got up and straightened her morning hair.

_Tok! Tok! Tok!_

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me, Luce. Aren't you ready yet?" Gray said from behind the door.

"Oh, it's just you." She said underneath her breath. "I'm coming. I just need to change and brush my teeth."

"Well hurry up, will ya?" Gray said, a bit angrily.

Lucy immediately stormed her wardrobe to find anything to wear. After finally deciding on her blue tank top, her shorty short shorts and her boots, she went to the bathroom to wash her face, brush her teeth and adore herself for a while.

"Lucy, would you please hurry up?" Gray said, knocking on Lucy's door twice before Lucy finally opened it.

"Alright! I'm ready, see?" she said, tying her hair into kindergarten jinkies as she walked away angrily. "Jeez…"

"Let me guess why you're so mad in the morning… " Gray said, one eyebrow raised as he stared at her walking, stomping rather, on the hallway to the stairs.

"I'm not mad." She denied.

"You're mad because you're jealous… And you're jealous because Natsu and Lisanna are getting closer to each other …" Gray said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I'm not mad! I'm not jealous, okay?" Lucy said, still stomping away.

"Hey, stop, will ya?" Gray said, taking a hold of Lucy's hand and stopping her in her tracks. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Nothing, I said." Lucy insisted as she shook off Gray's grip on her hand. "Just hungry…"

Gray stared intensely at Lucy with his signature blank face. Lucy tried to fight back at first by staring at him as her eyebrows met but slowly lost due to her embarrassment as she stared at Gray's (handsome) face for a while.

"I guess I _was _jealous after all…" she admitted to herself. "I guess I'm not used to _not _being in the spotlight. Is that bad?"

She stared at Gray who immediately smirked at her remark. "Yeah, it's wrong."

"Hey! You're supposed to make me _feel better._ What kind of friend are you?"

"The kind of friend who knows when you're already doing something wrong," he replied. "Look, you didn't go here to be given attention to. For all I know, you went here to make sure I don't get my '_claws' _on Lisanna… Natsu's attention is just a bonus. Even if he's not with you anymore, I'm sure you'll live."

"Why are you talking as if Natsu and I are going to break up soon?" Lucy asked nervously.

"I am?" he said, taking Lucy's hand and raising it up while making her heart rap in her chest in the process.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she said. The way her hand was raised brought up a familiar memory. Somehow she knew at the back of her mind what was going to happen next.

"Follow after me…" Gray said.

_I knew it_, Lucy thought as she gave a smile.

"I promise…" Gray started.

"I promise…"

"To enjoy this day…"

"To enjoy this day…"

"And let _nothing_…" he emphasized.

"And let _nothing_…"

"Ruin my day…"

"Ruin my day…"

"Not even a storm or a bad news…"

"Not even a storm or a bad news…"

"And I'll be smiling 'till I sleep…"

"And I'll be smiling 'till I sleep…"

"That's a promise, then, Luce." Gray said. "And Stellar Spirit mages _never _break their promises."

"I know, I know…" Lucy said, smiling cutely at Gray. "Thanks, Gray."

"You owe me a favor now…" he said, pinching her nose and making her close her eyes because of the gentle pain. "Let's go… Lisanna and Natsu are waiting for us…"

Lucy half frowned as she happily stared at Gray walking away. Gray is just always so dependable when she's confused or in pain. He doesn't even care if her favors just keep piling up.

_Wait, what did he just say? _"I owe you another favor?"

* * *

Earlier that morning, Lucy was positive that the day was going to progress happily with more fun and excitement than jealousy and suspicion—how very wrong she was.

The moment she went down with Gray to the restaurant, she saw Natsu and Lisanna talking intensely about something. Now if they were just talking, she wouldn't mind but Natsu was holding _Lisanna's hand_! Naturally, she got jealous but Gray reminded her of her promise and she forgot about it after eating. Natsu stuck to her after that, not opening the topic about him and Lisanna talking. After eating, the four of them went to the amusement park which reminded Lucy of when she and Gray were there. She wanted to ride the Death Coaster again, wanting to remember the feeling she got when she rode it before, but after looking at Lisanna, the two boys shook their heads and they ended up strolling the amusement park instead.

A lot of things were very familiar to Lucy while they were walking through the amusement park; like the stall where the crazy old lady kept on talking about her failed love and the Hall of Mirrors where she and Gray—never mind. Because of these, she was just smiling at the happy memory the place brought her and did not pay any attention to Natsu constantly asking if Lisanna was okay and Gray _still _being very protective of Lisanna as if he was Mira.

Next, they went to a bargain store where they went window shopping 'til they dropped. That was probably the second happy thing that happened to Lucy that day. She and Lisanna were practically in heaven. Even though they didn't buy anything since they didn't squeeze it in the budget, they were allowed to try the clothes on. The topic about gaining weight, however, was brought up by Gray who insensitively commented that Lucy looked as if she could lose some because the dress she wanted didn't fit her. But at least she wasn't the only one who needed to shed off some pounds since she noticed that even Lisanna was worried due to her belly which was now sticking out a bit.

But heaven only lasted for two hours for Lucy since they moved to a club to eat. It was a bad sort of club where there was dancing and drinking and flirting and even bad mouthing. Although Lucy enjoyed dancing with strangers, she didn't enjoy the fact that Gray kept on clinging to Lisanna like a leech. She even saw Gray drinking two or three glasses of alcohol for Lisanna who apparently didn't want to drink. At the back of her mind, she knew she had no right to feel that way, jealous, but it wasn't as if she could stop herself from feeling that way either so instead of ruining her mood, she just danced the night away until Natsu called her up because it was already time to go.

"Awwe…" she complained. "Just when I was having fun."

"Sorry, Luce," Natsu said. "Maybe next time."

Natsu held out his hand to Lucy in a gentleman-like manned and led her out the club where Lisanna and Gray were waiting in the cold.

"It's still eight in the evening, you know." Lucy pouted, wanting to go back inside.

"Sorry, Lucy…" Lisanna apologized in an equally cute manner. "But I don't feel so good and Gray—"

"He's a bit tipsy and it gets dangerous after that." Natsu said, putting Gray's arm around his neck and supporting him.

Lucy looked at Gray in suspicion. He didn't look tipsy _at all_. He was _drunk_. The fact that his half-closed eyes were looking ahead endlessly and his usually noisy comments whenever Natsu touched him replaced by silence was enough evidence that he was indeed _drunk_.

"What happened to him?" Lucy asked LIsanna.

"I think he drank a bit more that what he should've," she sighed. "It's my fault. He drank all the drinks meant for me."

"Why did you take them in the first place?" she asked.

"Well, it was free and I learned that it's rude to reject an offer." Lisanna replied shyly. "Apparently, the rule doesn't always apply."

"You're so nice, Lisanna." Lucy said.

The four of them were now silently on the way to their respective rooms when Natsu started complaining about how heavy Gray was getting.

"Hey, would you please exert some effort? You're not exactly Mr. Lightweight," he complained.

"Well, I'm sorry…" Gray snapped back. "I'd walk but I can't even feel my legs right now."

"Why'd you drink so much anyway? Do you know that that's _gluttony_?"

"Says the guy who never stops eating!"

"You pickin' a fight, huh?" Natsu said pushing Gray and making him stand up.

"Oh, you're on!" Gray said.

"Stop it, you two!" Lucy interfered.

"_Kyaaaah!"_

All three of them, Lucy, Natsu and Gray, now instantly sober, immediately turned their heads to where the sound was coming from, and it was coming from Lisanna who was now falling down the stairs.

* * *

Yeah, I'll leave you guys hanging in there…

Keep smiling and God bless you all!

You know I love you, dontcha! ^^


	27. REVELATION

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**I CAN EXPLAIN: **I'm lazy and school doesn't give me much time… I _**AM **_sorry that I'm such a lousy updater. I'm especially sorry to those guys who were waiting for so long **(Nimra-san, I'm sorry!)** … SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry SORRYsorry!

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: REVELATION-  
**_"You're gonna get over this…"**  
**_

Everything was moving in slow motion the way Lucy saw it: Lisanna lost her balance and was now falling _slowly _down the stairs, her hands reaching out for Lucy's, who was trying hard to grab her and keep her from falling. She could hear Gray and Natsu's voices screaming Lisanna's name. As Lisanna fell and she was reaching as far as she can, Lucy's heart pounded wildly.

Tears escaped Lucy's eyes. Intuition was telling her this night was going to change a _lot _of things.

"Lisanna—_NO!"_ she cried!

Almost immediately, after she screamed, time went back on pace: Lisanna was falling, she was reaching, and Gray and Natsu were screaming.

Lucy's eyes went blurry with tears and as she screamed, she could taste the salinity of them. She felt someone push her aside, making her bump forcefully on the wall and drop down on her knees, and jump towards Lisanna. Although the force was strong enough to give Lucy nausea, she felt numb. She hoped and prayed—even begged—that whoever was jumping toward Lisanna could actually keep her from falling head-first onto the ground.

She shut her eyes, not wanting to see what was going to happen next.

"Ice make—!"

_THUD_!

"_LISANNA!" _Natsu screamed from behind her. Lucy opened her eyes immediately.

Apparently, the person who pushed her was Gray trying to rescue Lisanna. She looked back at Natsu, horror-stricken and extremely pale. Standing up, Lucy went over to Gray and pushed him aside, wanting to see what had happened.

An unconscious Lisanna now lay on an ice web connected to the walls and the floor. It seemed to Lucy that Gray was just in time to keep Lisanna from falling.

Gray dropped on his knees and let out a sigh of relief. "Th-that was close."

Loud footsteps came rushing toward them as Natsu entered the scene. He pushed Lucy aside. "Is she alright, Gray?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," the ice mage replied as he stood up.

"Lisanna, wake up!" Natsu said, rushing to Lisanna's side and carrying her as a groom would a bride. "Lisanna…"

Lucy and Gray, too, came rushing toward the two of them. Lisanna flinched and upon opening her eyes, she screamed.

"_KYAAAAH!" _She clung to Natsu's neck.

"Hey…" Natsu said, comforting her and rubbing her back. "Hey, it's okay…"

"Oh, Natsu! I was so scared!" she said in between sobs of fear.

"It's okay now…" Natsu said and holding her tightly as if she were going to fall again.

"I was so scared!" she repeated. "I thought—_the baby was going to die!_"

Lucy was taken aback by the statement. _Was I hearing correct?_

With wide-eyed confusion, she stared at Lisanna while Natsu and Gray were looking at her, obviously waiting for a reaction.

It took Lucy a while to gain composure. She thought for a while and decided that it would be better if Lisanna rested first before she was going to ask for an explanation about whatever she thought Lisanna had said.

"Luce…" Natsu said in a small voice.

"Take her to her room first, Natsu." She said softly but emotionlessly. "She needs to rest."

Natsu nodded and walked ahead of her and Gray.

When Natsu could no longer be seen, Gray put his hand on Lucy's shoulder and, as if it were very heavy, caused Lucy to drop on her knees for the second time that night.

"Hey, Luce!" Gray said, bewildered. "You okay?"

"I'm okay—I think…" she said staring blankly at space. Her mind was processing, digesting all that had happened—especially what Lisanna had said.

"C'mon, let's get you to your room." Gray said, offering his hand to her. Lucy, however, didn't take it but stood on her own and like a mindless zombie, she walked away.

* * *

All was silent between the two of them. So silent, it was _deafening_.

Lucy knew she and Natsu had to talk so after Lisanna had fallen asleep, she called for Natsu and they talked in the veranda of her room. There, in the cold sea breeze, and the pale yellow moonlight, Lucy and Natsu stood next to each other, rooted on the spot with nothing to say.

Seeing that it was getting them nowhere, Lucy broke the silence and said, "Since I don't want to jump to any conclusions, I'd let you explain _everything._"

Natsu sighed and didn't even look at her. For the first time in her life, Lucy saw Natsu so weak and vulnerable.

"Then let me start by saying, 'I'm sorry' Luce," he said glancing at her and back to the sea again. "I don't know how many times I've done things to you and I don't even know if I deserve your forgiveness."

Natsu saying something so smart so sincerely made Lucy's heart pound. Tears wanted to escape her eyes again but she didn't want to cry so she held them in and urged Natsu to continue.

"It was a mistake," he continued. "I didn't know how it happened but—it did."

"How long have you known?" Lucy asked with the feeling that she already knew what he meant by _it_.

"When Lisanna talked to me at the beach the other day," he said. "I was surprised and wasn't expecting. I didn't even know how to tell you, Luce."

"How old is the baby?" she asked him.

"Four months, I think." Natsu was now facing her with guilt written all over his face.

Lucy ran the numbers. If it was four months, then it only meant that _it _happened even before she and Natsu broke up. Anger and bitterness started to stir up inside of Lucy. _How could he do this to me?_

Lucy raised her hand in an attempt to slap Natsu. But halfway, she put her hands down and breathed deeply. Even if she slapped Natsu or even _killed _him, nothing would change.

With quivering lips, she asked, "What do you plan on doing now?"

"Frankly, I don't know," he said. "Is there anything I _can _do?"

Lucy closed her eyes. To think that she already dreamt of wedding bells and walking down the aisle toward Natsu and now she couldn't even see that.

"I'm so ashamed, Luce. I don't deserve to live anymore." Natsu said, looking intently at Lucy. He looked scared—lost, even. As if he didn't know what to do.

_And if I hate him for this… _Lucy just felt pity for Natsu now. She felt that he already had more than enough burdens even without her hating him.

"Natsu, I think we should just break up." Lucy said.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that," he half-smirked.

"No, not for the reason you think," Lucy said, knowing that Natsu must be thinking that she hates him. "I'm doing this for your baby."

"What?" he said confused.

"I want you to take responsibility of this, Natsu. I don't want that baby to grow up having a father who has another woman," she said intellectually. In the novels, Lucy thought, the female character would usually beat the hell out of the guy who does that to her. Now she was wondering what kind of person would do that to Natsu now.

"And besides," she continued "Lisanna _needs _you at times like these. It's for the best."

Lucy put her hand on Natsu's arm and patted it in a friendly way.

"Luce…" Natsu said.

He instantly wrapped Lucy around his arms and put his head on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Luce. I really am."

"And I forgive you…" she said.

"I'm really scared,"

Lucy felt tears on her shoulders. For the first time in her life, she saw Natsu crying. Now she was sure that she would want to help him out and she hugged him tightly, wanting him to feel that she was going to be there for her even only as friends.

"I'm here for you, Natsu," she said affectionately. "I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Lucy," he whispered in her ear. "And I _am _sorry."

Lucy broke the hug and patted his shoulders. Then, smiling, she said, "How many times do I have to say that I forgive you? Now go and make me proud."

Natsu sniffed and said, "Thank you, Lucy."

He, then, kissed Lucy's forehead, wished her good night and went out of the room.

Not knowing why, Lucy dropped on her knees and tears fell like rain from her eyes. She wasn't mad at Natsu or Lisanna but why was she crying?

That's right, she felt lonely. She pitied herself and she felt lonely. Somehow, her love life just turns rotten when all seems so well.

_TOK! TOK! TOK!_

Lucy wiped her tears with the neckline of her shirt and approached the door.

Before she could open it, a voice from behind the door said, "Luce?"

_Gray? _"Y-yeah?" she said in the most normal voice she could muster.

"It's me, Gray." Lucy gulped as she could feel pity from the sound of his voice. "Are you okay?"

_No, not really. _Gray knew about Lisanna's condition, after all, and didn't tell her. So maybe he'd forgive her if she was mad?

"Uh… I understand if you don't want to see me right now… I mean, if you're mad I'd understand. But I just want you to know that it's okay."

Lucy cried again and this time, she tried hard to swallow the voice that was dying to get out.

"It's okay 'coz this isn't the first time you were hurt. And I'm sure this'll just pass," he said. "Today, you're crying but tomorrow, you'd be laughing—who knows?"

_Gray, _she thought: her knight-in-shining-armor who was always there when she needed a shoulder to cry on…or beat up. Lucy leaned on the door for support as all strength was escaping her knees.

"And I hope this won't come between your friendship with Natsu or Lisanna or me… I didn't—I mean—we didn't want to hurt you. We were just waiting for the right time…"

Lucy gave no answer. For some reason, the tears just kept flowing down.

"So if you're mad now, I get it. But I hope tomorrow you'd go back to the smiling, hyperactive Lucy Heartfilia I know."

Still, Lucy gave no reply because she was now half-smiling, half-crying at Gray's words.

"Well, good night and uh… see you in the morning."

Lucy could hear Gray's footsteps slowly retreating from her door.

Then, without even knowing why, Lucy opened the door and ran after Gray.

Gray seemed to hear her footsteps and turned around. "Lucy?"

"Gray, you idiot!" she said, pounding his chest while her face rested on it, wet with tears. "You knew and you didn't tell me!"

"I said I was sorry!" he said. "And don't yell, stupid! Everyone could be asleep by now!"

"That's not an excuse!" she said. "I feel so confused right now!"

"You're gonna get over this…" Gray smiled and hugged her back. "I _know_ you will..."

* * *

I suck at endings… TT^TT

Anyway, I can explain, really… it's because I'm just so busy nowadays! Is that an acceptable reason?

R & R, please! Don't forget to smile!


	28. Waking Up

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: WAKING UP-  
**_"All is well in the end; so if all is not well, it's not yet the end."_

Lucy found it hard to wake up that morning. She felt as if a stone was lying on top of her. Aside from that, her eyes were swollen from all the crying. The night before, Gray was kind enough to calm her down and stay with her until she cried all the tears she could. This crying took about an hour at most. She even wondered where all those tears came from. When she was finally out of tears, she found it easy to go to bed.

_Ugh..._ she thought. Her head was now aching and she was hungry, but couldn't find the strength to actually get up. _What time is it anyway?_

Remembering all the past days, she expected Gray to knock on her door in a short while.

Anytime now, she thought.

But nothing came.

Feeling somewhat stupid and even dismayed, a hungry Lucy dragged herself to the bathroom where she washed her face.

From the small, rectangular-shaped box above the sink, Lucy gazed upon a blonde youth. To no surprise, the girl stared back at her.

Although tired-looking and eyes swollen, the girl in the box looked beautiful: her blonde hair was close to the color of gold despite its disarrayed condition; her blue eyes were tantalizing behind the swelling of the pinkish flesh that surrounded it; the nose was also good and the lips were naturally pink. For Lucy, with no intention of flattering at all, the girl could pass of as Snow White. And that girl was her, Lucy Heartfilia.

However, this Snow White's fairy tale was far from the happy ending she'd expected.

Lucy heaved a sigh. For some reason, her love story was always a mess.

After washing her face, she went to her closet without the appetite she initially had. As if by magic, it left her upon leaving the bathroom. Finding it unneeded to go down the café and eat, she sat on her bed instead and propped up a book her mother had given her. This was one of her most treasured (though not her favorite) books entitled, From a Mother to a Daughter: with Love.

_Oh, mom..._ she sighed at the thought of her late mother. Layla had always known what to do and what to say at all situations and circumstances_. If only she could give me some advice right now._

With the slightest move that Lucy had made, the book slid off her lap and fell to the floor, landing face up.

Lucy sluggishly reached for the book when her attention was caught by some writings on one of the pages of the book, written in red ink by her mother's handwriting.

Lucy smiled as she read the words:

_My beloved Lucy, all is well in the end;_

_So if all is not well,_

_it's not yet the end._

* * *

This is a short chapter. Why?

Because a longer one will come up, that's why.

I thank you all for being so patient with me…!


	29. Moving On

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**HONEST MISTAKE: **In the previous chapter, I wrote that Lucy had **blue eyes**: AN HONEST MISTAKE. I forgot that her eyes were brown. SORRY!

**ABOUT SCHOOL: **We're learning about Defense Mechanisms… -_- Now I'm beginning to wonder if this chapter is long enough...

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: MOVING ON-**_  
__"She… forgives you," Gray suddenly said."_

"Stop it, Gray!" she ordered.

"No," Gray replied and he continued to push her toward a wooden door.

"I said, _'Stop it'_!"

"C'mon, sissy!" he teased.

Lucy pushed her shades up the bridge of her nose. She had worn them the minute she stepped out of her room in order to hide her now slightly swollen eyes behind them. Unfortunately, Gray was on his way to her room with the intention of _making _her visit Lisanna and Natsu. Gray, being a strong guy, was able to effortlessly push her toward Lisanna's room.

Lucy didn't know why but somehow, she didn't want to see Lisanna and Natsu just yet. She was sure that she held no anger against either of them. It was just— very awkward.

"Gray, stop it _right now!_" she repeated when they were already a few steps to Lisanna's room.

"No, _you _stop it!" Gray argued back.

_CLUNK._

Both their heads turned toward the door, now opened, with a Natsu staring wide-eyed at them.

"Hey, Gray… Luce…"

"Yo." Gray said raising a hand to him. Lucy simply smiled—or so she thought. Through Natsu's point of view, she looked utterly disgusted.

Tensed, Natsu uttered, "W-What are you doing here?"

"Is Lisanna alright?" Gray asked, took Lucy by the arm, made his way inside the room and dragged the Stellar-Spirit Mage in.

"She's, uh… _resting._" Natsu replied back, scratching the back of his neck.

As Gray and Lucy went near the bed, Lucy's heart beat faster. She held her breath as if they were going somewhere that smells.

There, on the bed, covered with white sheets, Lisanna sat, eating breakfast.

_The baby was going to die!_

The words rang in Lucy's ears and her heart pounded. Intense feelings, not of hatred but rather, self-pity, rose up to her chest as she and Lisanna looked eye-to-eye.

"Lucy…" Lisanna blurted out, almost choking on the cinnamon bread she was eating.

"Hey, 'Sanna," Gray smiled as he sat down, still holding Lucy's arm, which made her sit beside him on Lisanna's bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," she replied. "I think _he's_ fine, too."

Lisanna patted her belly affectionately at this statement.

"_He_?" Gray asked, eyebrow raised.

"Well, I'm not very sure," Lisanna said. "But I have a feeling that it's going to be a boy."

"If it's gonna be a boy and takes after Natsu then the world's going to fall apart…" Gray said half-seriously, looking at Natsu who was leaning on the wall beside Lisanna.

"Shut up, Gray," Natsu said emotionlessly.

_It's so unlike Natsu to let Gray's insults pass, _Lucy thought.

"What're you gonna name the baby?" Gray asked.

"If it's a boy, we decided on _Makarov…_" Lisanna said. Then, with imploring eyes, she looked at Lucy and said, "…and if it's a girl we'll name her _Lucy…_"

"_Lisanna…" _Lucy blushed at Lisanna's words.

"Hey, Natsu… Let's go buy something to eat…" Gray said immediately and dragged Natsu by the collar of his vest like a dog out of the room.

When the door closed behind them, Lisanna and Lucy were left in an awkward moment. After a brief silence, Lucy forced a chuckle and put her hand affectionately on Lisanna's leg.

"It's good to see that you're fine…" she said, taking off her shades.

"And I'm glad to see you here…" Lisanna said in all honesty with an embarrassed undertone. "Frankly, I thought you wouldn't want to see me again."

"What?" Lucy exclaimed. "Why?"

"Lucy, I know I owe you a huge debt. And I can't even start to imagine what kind of pain I've been putting you through."

"Lisanna, please…" Lucy interrupted. "It's not like that…"

"I probably don't even deserve to live, right?" Lisanna said, apparently not listening to Lucy's sentiments. "No matter how much you hide it, I know you must be hurt. So please, don't act as if you're not."

Lisanna looked down, unable to see Lucy eye-to-eye. With tears falling on her shirt, she quivered and continued, "I don't want to ruin your relationship with Natsu but I can't _not have _the baby."

At that moment, she didn't know who she pitied more: Lisanna or herself. She could see that Lisanna had no ill intentions, much like Natsu. Both of them were completely lost and stuck on the same shaky ground. How could she actually hate Lisanna?

"I'll be fine even if you don't want Natsu to take responsibility of this so please don't hate me," silver hair covered half Lisanna's face as she looked up at Lucy in tears. It broke Lucy's heart that Lisanna was going through such thoughts of fear, guilt and abandonment.

Lovingly, Lucy wrapped her arms around Lisanna and hugged her tightly. Her tears fell almost immediately.

"Lisanna…" she said softly as she cried. "I understand."

Lisanna let out a cry and hugged Lucy back.

"I'd be lying if I said that I'm not mad or hurt, though. Of course, it does," Lucy said honestly. "So I hope you understand me, too, if I act strangely with all the new things and changes around us.

"But that doesn't mean I won't be your friend anymore. I'd still be here for you and Natsu. It pains me to see you think that way. I thought about it and talked with Natsu," Lucy said and broke the hug to look at Lisanna properly. "We decided that it would be best for everyone if he stayed with you and your child."

"Lucy…" Lisanna said, shocked.

"I know it's what _you_'d do if this happened to me so…"

"Lucy!" Lisanna hugged Lucy again by the waist in such a way that her head was pressed on Lucy's stomach.

Crying, she uttered gibberish words of apology which Lucy couldn't all understand. She, too, was crying. The thought of having to let go of Natsu for the second time was almost as unbearable as the first. But since it was all for the common good, Lucy had more peace.

She didn't want the child to lose a parent. She knows how it feels like at a different perspective, though. Her mother had died and she completely understood that they couldn't see each other anymore. But with how would Natsu's child feel seeing him and not being able to call him 'Dad'. Lucy just couldn't see it. She didn't want to carry that burden for life.

And now as she let go of Natsu, she knew perfectly that she was going to have to get used to it permanently. Natsu wasn't gone, anyway. He had just changed his role in her life. And perhaps, the gods had a plan why things turned out that way.

She remembered the words her mother had written on her book, _"…If all is not well, it's not yet the end."_

"Don't cry anymore, Lisanna…" Lucy said affectionately, wiping tears of her own. "Or else you'll end up with swollen eyes like mine."

Lisanna laughed and broke away, wiping her tears as she did, and laughed. "I see your eyes have been worked up last night."

"Yeah…" Lucy laughed in reply. "I'm surprised they can still produce so many tears right now." She, too, dried her now more swollen eyes.

The two girls hugged once more at their now renewed and more mature friendship.

"But, really, Lisanna," Lucy suddenly said. "You're really naming the baby after me?"

And they laughed again.

* * *

Gray closed the door behind him as he dragged Natsu out of the room.

"O-oi…" said Natsu, matching up to Gray's pace. He pulled his hand from Gray's grip. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Those two need to talk, idiot," Gray said flatly. "Don't you know a thing about women?"

Gray leaned on the wall outside of Lisanna's room and calmly waited in silence with his eyes closed. Natsu, after staring at Gray for a long time, sat on the floor beside him.

It was a silent yet tense moment for the two comrade-rivals. It was like Lucy and Lisanna were fighting inside.

"Is Lucy alright with everything?" Natsu asked suddenly.

Gray opened his eyes slowly and breathed, "She broke up with her boyfriend because he had an intimate affair with her friend. How do you think she feels?"

"Yeah, I thought so," Natsu said,guilt in his voice. What Gray had said was brutally blunt yet somehow honest and full of sense.

"You talked to her last night, didn't you?" Natsu asked again.

Gray didn't move; didn't budge; he didn't even grunt or sigh. He just stayed silent and Natsu took it as Gray shyly saying 'Yes.'

"Did she say anything about how I could make it all better?"

"Look, we've known this girl for quite some time now. Do you really think she's that kind of woman?" Gray said monotonously.

"It's just so difficult because she's very unpredictable at times," the flame mage replied.

A short pause came again, and Gray broke it this time.

"She… forgives you," Gray suddenly said.

Natsu chuckled. "That's very like Lucy."

"But I _don't_."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"You should've thought things through, you bastard," Gray said with anger in his voice. "You slept with Lisanna when you were in a relationship with Lucy; now you're suffering the consequences of your stupidity."

Natsu sighed. "Che. You don't need to tell me that 'coz I see that every day. And if you're talking about suffering, don't worry; I have much of that right now."

"Serves you right," the raven-haired mage replied.

"Are you… still in love with Lucy?" Natsu said after a while.

"That depends," he coolly replied.

"Whaddya mean, 'That depends'?" Natsu said, eyebrows meeting. "Is that even possible?"

"Lucy obviously hasn't moved on. If I force myself on her, it'd give her more trouble."

"So you _do _still love her," Natsu concluded.

"That depends…" Gray repeated.

Natsu stood up from his initial position and faced Gray. Gray flinched a bit but remained calm as he stared as Natsu rose.

"I _love _Lucy, Gray," Natsu confessed. "But I don't deserve to."

"Your point is?" Gray asked, without even looking at him.

Obviously, all the anger that Lucy didn't feel for Natsu transferred to Gray. How could it not? Natsu was a two-timing bastard who broke Lucy's heart twice. He could've forgiven him once but twice was just way too much. He's had his chances and he wasted them. If he dared ask for a third chance with Lucy, he'd ice blast Natsu 'til kingdom come!

"I want you to love her the way I didn't."

At this statement, Gray's eyes widened and his head immediately snapped to Natsu's direction in disbelief. Natsu wasn't joking. The way he looked, he was serious. _Dead serious. _

"If there's anyone I know to whom I can trust will love Lucy a lot better, it's you," Natsu said. "I may not usually say smart stuff but I know this one will be a wise decision.

"I've thought about it all night and," Natsu breathed, "It seems Lucy and I were just _not meant to be together_."

Natsu held out a hand to Gray. He was officially ceding their rivalry on Lucy. "Whaddya say, Gray?"

Gray looked at Natsu's hand, then at Natsu. One moment, the two of them were in a tense situation, the next moment, Gray punched Natsu so hard that he shook his hand in pain afterward. Natsu lay on the floor in shock, caressing his cheek.

"What the—what was _that _for?" Natsu asked in anger, still on the floor and looking up to Gray. "I was _freakin' _serious!"

"That was from Lucy to you, idiot," Gray said and he offered his hand to Natsu. "And I accept your offer… You'd better not regret it."

* * *

Gray-sama! You're so COOL! 3

That's right! To all those who are broken-hearted out there, move on!

If you're meant to be together, then you _will _be together!

So stop crying or hurting and just MOVE ON! (This is easier said than done, I understand that.)


	30. A Fresh Start

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**HIATUS ALERT!**First preliminary exams are going on until the end of July so I don't think I'll be able to update this again. I'm sorry… I _**will try**_, though, but I won't promise. Please be more patient with me and I hope to do well in my exams!

**REJOICE! **It seems like yesterday when I was first writing this sequel to 'Invisible.' And now I'm up to _**THIRTY CHAPTERS! **_Isn't this great? Thirty chapters and still writing! Wow! It's all thanks to your patience and your encouraging words, your sweet and constructive reviews! I love you all!

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY: A FRESH START-**_  
__"What if the same things happened again this time?"_

"_Eeeeh? You're leaving early?" _Lucy exclaimed wide-eyed at Natsu and Lisanna.

All four of them were in the middle of enjoying their breakfast buffet when Lisanna suddenly broke news about her and Natsu's early homebound journey. Gray paused halfway in putting the pasta to his mouth and Lucy choked.

"Why?" the blonde continued. She had already made plans to take Lisanna on a shopping spree for baby clothes and toys and stuff. She seemed to be even more excited than Lisanna about the baby.

"Natsu and I talked about it yesterday and he said that we'd have to get me to see a doctor or something," Lisanna explained, sorry eyes at Lucy.

"Tatch wroit! _(That's right!)_" commented Natsu, already gorging on his second serving of flame roast.

"You're suddenly thinking smart. I guess all it took was to shake your head up a bit," Gray said calmly to Natsu, then put the pasta in his mouth. He was obviously talking about the punch he'd given the dragon slayer the day before. The proof of the damage it did to Natsu was the square-shaped bandage on his left cheek.

"Shut up, snow cone!" Natsu snapped back in a Natsu-like kind of way, standing up in protest. "I wasn't ready! I could've blocked that hand of yours anytime!"

"Really now?" Gray teased and he stood up, too.

"Hey, what in the world happened to you guys anyway?" Lucy asked, pointing her index finger at Natsu's bandaged cheek and Gray's equally-damaged right hand. "Did you fight again?"

"Not really," the ice mage replied calmly and returned to his seat beside her. "We actually made up."

"No, we didn't," Natsu disagreed.

"_They don't want to admit it but they actually had a friendly talk yesterday and now they're in good terms," _Lisanna whispered to a curious Lucy.

"Wow," she commented. "And what did you guys talk about?"

"Nothing special," was Gray's immediate reply.

"C'mon, you can tell me," Lucy asked.

"So, when do you guys plan on heading back for Magnolia?" Gray asked, changing the topic.

"Hey, we're not finished ye—"

"This afternoon… _If _you don't mind," Lisanna cut off Lucy in her protest.

"No way! So soon?" Lucy asked. She felt as if she wasn't even part of their circle. They were talking about things that she didn't know and so obviously all she could do was exclaim, emphasize, protest and whine.

"I'm sorry, Lucy-chan," Lisanna said, holding her hands up together in a prayer-like manner. "I promise we'd go shopping next time but—"

"As of now, it's important to have that critter in your stomach checked," Gray interrupted. "The fall you had wasn't as bad as it could've but it still had an impact."

"Yeah, Luce. Better safe than sorry…" Natsu said, still concentrating on his food. If there was one thing Natsu was polite to, it was food.

"Then we'd go home with you, right Gray?" Lucy said and clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, I want to go to the baby doctor and know about little Lucy, too!"

"B-but…" Lisanna started. "What about this whole vacation package? Gray booked it for a whole week for two and… Is it _non-refundable_?"

Gray nodded.

"Lucy-chan, you can stay here for the remaining three days of the trip!" she suggested, clapping her hands in excitement. "I mean, it's such a waste on all that money."

Lucy ran the numbers. Exactly how much has Gray spent on this vacation? She almost choked when the amount equalled her rent for three months!

Lucy breathed out. What a waste of good money if they wouldn't be able to finish it.

"Yeah, Luce," added Natsu. "You can stay here for a while and get some of those nerves calmed."

"Huh?" Lucy asked. _Oh, right. _She needed some space to breathe. Now that radical changes have taken place, she, Lisanna and Natsu would need some time to adjust. And that won't happen if all three of them would be together.

"I guess it's what's best for all, then," the blonde sighed.

_I feel like I've been giving Gray too much trouble, _she thought. _This was supposed to be for Lisanna and now…_

"You won't mind, would you Gray?" asked Lisanna, now smiling widely at Gray.

Lucy felt Gray flinch beside her. "No, not really."

"It's decided then!" the girl Lisanna exclaimed. She looked at Lucy with mischievous eyes.

_What in the world-?_ Lucy thought. Something in Lisanna's eyes was teasing her. She returned the girl's look with a look of querying. _What are you saying?_

Lisanna pointed at Gray with her eyes. It's like she was saying _'You should go on a date with Gray.'_

Lucy only rolled her eyes. _I want a fresh start, Lisanna, not a romantic experience._

She looked at Gray as he continued eating. Then, she remembered the last time they were there together. It wasn't exactly date-vacation but it was… _romantic _nonetheless.

Lucy gulped. What if the same things happened again this time?

* * *

_CLICK! _

Lucy had finally gotten the hang of unlocking Gray's helmet. She straightened her hair as she took it off.

The two of them had just gone from the station to see Lisanna and Natsu off. It was around noon and Gray had taken her to town where a '_very good restaurant' _was.

"Well, this is it…" Gray said, pointing to an old building behind him with his thumb.

Lucy took a good look at the place. It looked more of an old library rather than a good restaurant. The old walls were painted dark brown which now peeled due to age. The sign that read _'Elise's Resto' _faded and there were cobwebs on the sides and corners. Moreover, the place looked practically _deserted._

"Are you sure, Gray?" Lucy asked, eyebrow raised.

"Of course!" he said, already making his way in.

Upon opening the door, Gray and Lucy went over to the counter and rang the bell.

"Hello? Anybody here?" he said loudly.

"Gray? Gray, is that you?" said a woman's voice from inside.

Lucy looked at Gray and his face was extremely light and he was smiling. He was smiling in a way the blonde had never seen him smile before. It was as if he was excited and really, really glad.

A tall woman in her early twenties came out from the kitchen door, wearing an apron with spatula in hand. Her red locks were pulled up in a pretty ponytail which swayed from left to right as she walked hurriedly toward them.

_She's pretty… _Lucy thought in insecurity. She was aware of her beauty and sex appeal but this woman—she was innocent and young-looking. And the way Lucy saw it, she was also very kind.

The red-head approached Gray and pulled him into a tight hug. "You haven't been here in a while!"

"Y-yeah…" Gray exclaimed as he struggled in her arms.

"And who is _this_?" the woman asked, smiling suspiciously at Lucy.

"Hi…" Lucy greeted sheepishly.

"L-lucy…" Gray stammered. Lucy felt him fidgeting beside her as the woman looked at him with imploring eyes.

"Oh…" she said. "So _this _is Lucy… Come!"

The woman showed them to a table by the window.

"My name is Elise…" she introduced. "Nice to meet you, Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, too…" Lucy said. It was very awkward that this woman found it so easy to converse with her. She gave off a sort of warm and welcoming aura that made Lucy's nervousness go away. However, the 'awkwardness' still remained.

"I'm so glad Gray finally came here with a companion. He's usually alone and gets me worried that he may be an introvert…"

"Elise…" Gray said, rolling his eyes flushing.

"I've been Gray's mother figure-confidant after Ur and before Fairy Tail…" she explained, holding Lucy's hand. "He visits me here once in a while but the last time he was here—"

"_Ehem!_" Gray intentionally coughed and cut Elise off. He was now a slight shade of maroon on his cheeks and at the top corner of his ears. "We're here to eat, Elise… Not to chat."

"Kill joy…" Elise said, sticking her tongue out in a youthful manner while she tightened the knot on her apron.

Lucy fought back a giggle. She hasn't seen anyone embarrass Gray like this before. She felt like she was meeting Gray's mother in the form of Elise who was telling her all of Gray's _dirty little secrets._

"So, what'll you be having?" Elise asked Gray.

"What do you think?" Gray challenged, leaning closer to Elise. "C'mon Elise, you know I know how this game works."

"Fine," Elise said, leaning on the table and looking intently at Gray. "I think you want an extra large clubhouse sandwich, double the spread and cheese and—wow, you're pretty happy today—Caesar's salad with thousand-island dressing! You haven't had that one in _ages!_"

"Don't forget the—"

"And mango smoothie…" Elise added before Gray could even finish. "Well, isn't our Gray just happy and gay today!"

Lucy smiled but was quite confused with the situation. _Why were they talking like that? _She didn't get it.

"And you—" Elise said, turning immediately to Lucy and stared at her. Lucy felt herself move back in her chair. It was as if Elise was _pushing her back _with her glare.

"I…"

"You want a strawberry parfait—" Elise paused and her eyebrows met as she leaned in closer to Lucy, "—grilled ox meat and… _A Lucy salad?_ What's a Lucy salad?"

"It's—"

"Ah, I see… So that's what it is… And pineapple juice…" Elise said, straightening herself up.

"How did you—" Lucy started. She was perplexed at how Elise had known what she wanted as if _she was reading her mind!_

"I'll fix all those for you…" the red-head said, massaging her temples. "But about the 'Lucy salad' I don't think I'll be able to do it _exactly _the way your mom does it."

"I… Th-that's okay…" Lucy stuttered, still finding it hard to believe that she had known about her mother's Lucy salad. _Could it be that Elise can actually read people's minds?_

"Be right back!" Elise said in a sing-song voice and she made her way to the kitchen leaving a perplexed Lucy raising her hand at her in disbelief.

Lucy looked at Gray; he wasn't surprised at all!

"H-how—?" the blonde started.

"Yeah, about that…" Gray started, "That's one of Elise's magic: mind-scanning. That means she can deliberately read your conscious thoughts at will."

"I-is that even possible?" Lucy said. "I haven't known anyone who could do that… Mind-reading it's—it's very old magic. It's like—"

"She may not look it but Elise—" Gray said leaning in and gestured for Lucy to come closer, "—is actually almost in her hundred thirties…"

"_WHAT?" _Lucy yelped. "_S-seriously_?"

"Elise knows ancient witchcraft and authentic spells and such. She's kind of an ancient mage," Gray said coolly.

"She looks so young!" Lucy said, putting a hand on her face.

"Anti-aging potions…"

"Oh my…" Lucy exclaimed.

"Because of her strange abilities that are now very unusual, nobody comes in here for the food she offers," Gray explained.

"How did you two know each other?"

"Uhm…" Gray started, feeling a bit uncomfortable, "After Ur was gone, I went almost _everywhere_. When I first came here, I was seven, I think, and was jobless, penniless, homeless and hungry.

"I was scavenging around Elise's garbage—stop laughing, Lucy," Gray warned when Lucy started to smile. She held it back and urged Gray to continue, "—and that was when she first saw me. She scolded me for being so dirty and I fought back. Then she invited me in, bathed me, gave me food to eat and gave me a place to stay until I decided to join a guild, that is, Fairy Tail.

"As she said, she's like my mother figure-confidant and I'm grateful to her…" Gray smirked, his eyes almost sparkling in admiration. Lucy's heart melted at the sight.

"Gray—"

"Here you go~!" Elise said in a childish manner. She was now carrying two trays of food and on top of her head was a tray where their drinks were. She laid them on the table in front of Lucy and Gray where the food seemed to sparkle and so immediately activated their salivary glands.

Gray gulped. "Man, Elise… You always know what I want!"

"You gave me the idea, Gray…" she said as she dragged a chair and sat beside Lucy.

"Lucy-chan? Is something wrong?" Elise said.

Lucy held in her hands her salad bowl which contained lettuce, sliced cucmber, kiwi, and fried chicken slices topped with mayo. She looked at it as if it was something so precious.

"Nothing's wrong. I—" Lucy started, then tried to fight back tears which now accumulated in her eyes. "—This salad was my mother's specialty and she made it only for me.

"I remember how it tastes even though I haven't eaten it in about a decade… And—" Lucy took a fork and moved all the vegetables away from the center. There, in the center of the bowl, lay a single strawberry slice. "Just how mom makes it…

"Thank you, Elise…" Lucy said in tears.

"Oh, you poor dear…" Elise said affectionately and pulled Lucy in a tight—_really tight—_hug.

"I'm sorry, crying over the food…" Lucy laughed in embarrassment.

"Don't say that, you dear," Elise said. "If it makes you feel better, Gray did worse when I made him buttered chicken the way his mother did."

Gray choked. "E-elise!"

"What?" Lucy said, suddenly not feeling the loneliness anymore. "Why, what did he do?"

"He knelt on the floor and cried until mucus came out of his nose and didn't stop until he ran out of tears," Elise explained.

"Elise! Please stop that!" Gray said, then stood up.

"You know what else, Lucy-chan?" Elise continued, ignoring Gray's protest. "He still sucked his thumb to sleep when he was seven!"

"Elise!" Gray exclaimed even more. He was now beet-red.

"Did you also know that he's really good at playing the fiddle and his voice isn't too bad either!"

"I know about the fiddle part but the singing is new to me…" Lucy said, now engrossed in what Elise was saying.

"He also spends some time in front of the mirror and looking at his own body, flexing it and stuff. You can just _imagine!_"

Lucy blushed a shade of pink and looked at Gray who was practically horrified at having his most embarrassing moments revealed.

"He also writes in a diary—"

"I told you, it's a _journal!_" Gray protested.

"—whatever… He writes in a diary which he usually keeps under his mattress. Maybe you'd be able to find it sometime. His handwriting sucks…"

"Elise! May I have some more salad, please?" Gray exclaimed loudly.

"Go get it in the kitchen, dear. Can't you see I'm busy?" Elise ordered. Gray lazily obeyed and made his way slowly to the kitchen.

"As I was saying, he used to have a lucky charm, a little teddy bear this big—" Elise showed Lucy how big it was, about the size of an average potato, "—and he _never _goes anywhere without it."

"Come to think of it, I _did _see something like that on the counter atop the fireplace when I was cleaning his house," Lucy recalled.

"Oh, you've been to his house!" Elise exclaimed. She looked around to see if Gray would be able to hear, "Are you his girlfriend now?"

"I'm… No, I'm not…" Lucy said.

"That's just so sad… The last time he was here, he was thinking all about you and how you, err…" Elise struggled to find the right words, "…_dumped him_. He drank the whole night away without talking… Just thinking…"

Lucy gulped. Guilt flooded her and she also felt embarrassed. Elise must be thinking she's some sort of flirt, breaking his heart and then clinging to him now.

"Oh, but don't worry dear. He's not mad anymore," Elise assured her. "And I'll tell you something, too…"

Lucy leaned in closer.

"His most sensitive spot is his ear area," Elise said.

"I beg your pardon?" Lucy said, blushing. _Why would she say something like that?_

"He's ticklish around his ears. A soft blow or even a touch is enough to tickle him and have him under control. Also, his ear gives him the most pain."

"Really?" Lucy said, smiling shyly. Who would guess that the great Gray Fullbuster's most vulnerable spot were his ears?

The door opened and Gray was now carrying a fresh bowl of salad, eyebrows meeting. Lucy and Elise looked at him the whole time and he didn't like the way they did.

"What did you tell her now, Elise?" Gray asked, looking absolutely annoyed.

"Nothing!" Elise said, winking at Lucy. "Right?"

"R-right…" Lucy said.

"Hey, Gray, what's that—?" Elise said and leaned over as if trying to wipe something from Gray's face.

"What?"

"This—!" Elise got a hold of Gray's ears and pulled it.

"_YEOOOOOOW!_" Gray screamed and he dropped on to the floor.

"So _that_'s how you bring Gray Fullbuster down!" Elise exclaimed.

"Darn you, old woman!" Gray said, rolling on the floor slowly. "You told her!"

"Oh, but you proved me right!" Elise said in triumph. "Now excuse me as I will now drink my anti-ageing medicine. Ho! Ho! Ho! I'll be back, Lucy-chan~!"

Elise skipped happily toward the kitchen door and left Gray sitting on the floor, holding his left ear. Lucy was left with a smile from ear to ear. She looked at Gray.

"What?" Gray said. There were actually tears at the corner of his eyes!

"Nothing…" Lucy denied and she approached him. She held out a hand, "C'mon, get up Gray…"

Gray took her hand and stood up. "That woman is such a sadist. She totally gets energy from teasing and embarrassing me."

"I think she's nice…" Lucy said in admiration.

"She's a feminist so of course she'll be nice to you—_YEEEOOOW!_"

Gray took two huge steps away from Lucy who blew softly on his right ear.

"Stop doing that, dammit!" Gray said, beet-red.

"But it's fun!" Lucy said teasing Gray and playfully walked closer toward him.

"_Fun for you but not for me!_"

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **Well, that was long. As promised, though: a long chapter. Wheee~! Gray's dirty little secrets!

**SOME EXPOSURE: **Please read _**LOOK AT ME**_**, **another GraLu fanfic of mine. I dunno if it'll work for you guys but. **R&R **much appreciated by this story and my other story.


	31. Everyone Needs a Little

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**I'M BACK! **Whew! I felt like dying there! Most of my exams are over and I finally have some time in my hands. So, whose ready for an update? :D

**DISCLAIMER # 2: **Yeah, cool title. Credits to _**Kari Jobe**_ who owns the title and the song that goes with it. You guys should listen to it, it's very uplifting. Keep your spirits up!

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE-**_  
__"You need to rest your spirit, little one… Everyone needs a little peace."_

"What the—?" Gray exclaimed at the sight of his bike.

"Why? What happened?" Lucy asked and went in front of him.

The two had just finished eating dinner, courtesy of Elise, and were on their way back to the hotel. It was already dark then and already getting late, Gray thought that Lucy and Elise were already spending too much time together for their—_and his—_own good.

Unfortunately for him, luck does not seem to be on his side as some thug thought it funny to cut some wires and unscrew some bolts here and there on his bike and make it seem to be beyond repair.

"Can you fix it soon?" Lucy asked as the ice mage approached the almost-unrecognizable bike.

Gray took a good look at his bike and rolled up his sleeves. "I can fix it but not soon enough."

He attempted to push the bike slowly, just to park it near Elise's backyard. Suddenly, another unscrewed bolt came off and the rear tire loosened.

"Awwe, _c'mon!_" Gray complained. "Can you get that for me?"

"Yeah, sure…" Lucy said, picked up the bolt and handed it to Gray. "So, what're we gonna do now?"

"Uh, yeah… Could you go back in and borrow some tools I could use?"

Lucy nodded and went back into Elise's by the back door. Lucy closed it silently behind her as she entered the kitchen. It was a very homey kitchen. The wooden floor was waxed and shiny and the upper walls were covered with cupboards. To the right of this room was another door. There was a long, L-shaped counter to the left of the door leading to the restaurant and connected to it was a working stove with pots and pans. The counter seemed to serve as a sink, Lucy thought, as several unwashed dishes piled up on one side of it.

Underneath that sink was Elise, who seemed to be either taking or returning something from a cupboard.

"Elise?"

"Lucy? _Ow!_" the lady looked behind her—bumped her head on the cupboard wall—and faced Lucy. "You need something?"

"Can we borrow some tools? Something's wrong with Gray's motorcycle," she said and looked closely at Elise, who looked as if she had hurt her head real hard. The hair on the left side of her head was in a mess.

"Oh, I was _just _going to get that," she said, smiling and went back underneath the cupboard. From there, she took out a metal toolbox and handed it to Lucy. "Here you go."

"Thanks—Hey, what's that?" Lucy asked and examined the dark brown, sticky substance on Elise's hands. "Is that—_motorcycle oil_?"

"Sssh…" She said, putting a finger on her mouth and winking at the blonde mage. "Don't worry, it'll be alright."

* * *

"So?" Elise asked, smiling.

"I don't like the look on your face," Gray said flatly.

"What? I was just asking if you could fix it soon…" Elise said in a slight sing-song voice. "_Can you?_"

"It'll probably take a while—"

"Then you should spend the night _here!_" The woman said excitedly and clapped her hands together in rejoicing.

"_WHAT?!" _Gray and Lucy chorused.

"No, _definitely _not!" Gray protested.

"As much as I appreciate your offer, Elise, I _do _think we're already taking too much of your time," Lucy said politely.

"What? Why?" Elise asked. "It's not like I have anything else I need to do."

"But—"

"And it's not like you have a choice…" she teased.

"I—" Lucy started.

But Elise was right. The town was a bit far from the hotel and it was already nine then. She didn't want to go on foot by herself while Gray stayed and fixed his motorcycle.

She looked at Gray in defeat.

One look at Lucy and Gray's eyebrows met and his gaze slowly turned to his mother-figure.

"_You…" _Gray started. "_You did this._"

"Oh!" Elise said, putting a hand on her chest dramatically. "You think _I _would do such a barbaric thing? Gray, how could you?"

Lucy smiled secretly. Gray looked as if he was losing to Elise—again.

"What are _you _smiling about?" Gray asked Lucy, obviously still not in the mood.

"N-nothing. I was—"

"_Which reminds me!_" Elise exclaimed, cutting Lucy off. "I have a hot springs close by and it's so relaxing. It releases stress and all!"

"We're not even talking about that…" the ice mage said angrily.

"You should go with me, Lucy-chan!" she said, taking Lucy's hand excitedly.

"I… I don't know Elise… I don't have any clothes with me and—"

"Please?" the red-head pleaded with puppy-dog eyes.

"Stop bugging her, Elise—_YEOW!_" Gray exclaimed as Elise turned to him and blew on his ear so fast that he didn't have the time to see it coming. Immediately, Gray turned beet red and covered both of his ears defensively.

Elise, then, turned to a confused Lucy who didn't seem to know what was going on because everything happened so fast.

"_As I was saying… _Please?"

* * *

The cool night breeze blew and Lucy shuddered. Beneath the thin cloth of the robe she tightened so close to her skin, she could feel the cold touch her.

She looked at Elise walking ahead of her in a very childish fashion. She blushed because the longer she stared, the more she could see the curves of the elder woman's body as the robe on her looked like a second skin.

Lucy looked away.

"Here we are!" Elise exclaimed.

They stopped after walking a few meters away from Elise's home where a small piece of land surrounded by bamboo shoots that acted as a wall lay. Beneath it, Lucy could hear the soft gush of water that flowed from nowhere.

"Wow…" Lucy said, jaw-dropped. "How did this get here?"

Elise's house and restaurant was lying on the boundary of the city and the mountain perimeter and so Lucy was surprised how a spring could have gotten there. She didn't feel as if she was in a civilized town at all; she felt as if she was in some forest in an archaic era lost in time.

"I'm glad you like it…" Elise said, taking Lucy by the hand and leading her to the enclosed perimeter.

She pushed the bamboo "door" and the two went in.

"Wow—!" Lucy said again.

The view inside was magical.

At the center of the rectangular plot lay a small, circular pool of water. The edges of this pool were lined with medium-sized, smooth rocks. The water of the pool was steaming and the heat it was emitting contrasted the cold wind outside the enclosed area. The land in it was covered with moss-like grass and at the corners of the bamboo wall were different kinds of shrubs and plants and flowers. To the right of the door was a shelf where there were towels, robes and small wooden pails.

"This…" Elise started, "…was how I and my sisters spent our stress-full days and nights a _long _time ago."

The red-head took a pail with its contents, walked ahead of Lucy and took of the robe, revealing every inch of flawless skin of her back. She then lowered herself into the pool and invited Lucy in.

"Come, Lucy… _Don't be shy…_" she teased.

"I…" Lucy said, blushing. For a while there, Lucy felt dizzy.

_It must be the heat_, she thought.

Following Elise, she walked toward the woman and sheepishly took off her robe.

"Wow, you're so beautiful, Lucy…" Elise complimented as Lucy dipped herself into the pool.

Lucy blushed. Although she was used to getting this kind of praise from people, it was the first time someone had said that to her when she was butt-naked.

"And so cute, too!" Elise said, hugging Lucy close.

"_EEEP!" _Lucy exclaimed. "Elise, please stop!"

"I'm sorry…" the woman said, immediately letting go of Lucy. "I just miss my sisters."

"What _happened_ to your sisters, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, that was a long time ago…" Elise said.

"During our time, there were _two _kinds of magic: the lachrymal magic and ancient witch magic. Lachrymal magic, the one you use today, are the more common ones. They were acceptable because they were human-derived. Ours on the other hand," Elise sighed, "were considered _abnormal _and an _abomination._"

"Why?" Luc asked.

"Because we made contracts with demons, that's why," she said intensely. "Or at least that's what they thought. The truth is that we made contracts with earth-bound spirits. We're sort of like Stellar Spirit mages without keys. We capture and tame spirits and share their powers."

"That's amazing…"

"But they didn't want to believe us. They were threatened that we would use our magic against their magic because ours is stronger and longer-lasting. They chased us out of town and killed our men. The children they captured and the women they abused and some, including my sisters, were killed because they fought back even though they were clearly outnumbered.

"I was lucky enough to not be there," Elise said. "I was on an errand to gather animal skins for potions and so was spared."

"I'm sorry, Elise…" Lucy said. "But why aren't the authorities threatening to catch you?"

"Not enough evidence," Elise said. "I learned how to use lachrymal magic in time and so whenever some inspectors from the Council come around, that's what I use. Aside from that, I can read minds and that's my ace."

In the middle of Elise's triumphant laughter, she coughed up.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lucy asked, getting closer to Elise and patting her back. "The heat must be getting to you, too."

"Nope—_cough_—that's not it…" Elise said and struggled to take a gourd-shaped flask from the small wooden pail.

Lucy watched as she did. She saw how Elise's red-hair turned maroon and some into shades of grey. Her skin sagged and her body shook without strength; as if she was ageing in just a matter of a few minutes.

"Here, let me…" Lucy offered and she opened the flask and helped Elise empty the contents into her mouth.

Slowly but surely, Elise's breathing went back to normal and so did her skin and hair. Apparently, the flask contained anti-ageing potion.

Breathing in deeply, Elise said, "I'm sorry you… had to see that, dear."

"It's…okay," Lucy said. "I'm glad I know a lot more about you guys now. We _were _told when we were young that ancient witches made blood compacts and slept with demons that would give them power."

"Blood compacts my ass," Elise protested. "Over my dead, sexy body."

"You're funny, Elise…" Lucy said, laughing at this statement.

Then, feeling a bit woozy, Lucy froze for a second.

"Are _you _okay?" Elise asked.

"Y-yeah… Just a bit dizzy."

"Come here…" Elise said and moved behind the blonde mage. She seemed to have been drawing patterns on Lucy's back which felt like mint and menthol on the stellar spirit mage's skin.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"You can call this ancient witch massage, I guess," Elise said with a chuckle. "You're _very_ stressed."

"You can tell?" Lucy said half-sarcastically.

"Yes," she replied. "Mages like you who use lachryma… When you're stressed lachryma builds up in small amounts in your channels here, here, here and here."

Elise pin-pointed the locations on Lucy's back.

"And you, little stellar spirit mage, are blocking a lot of channels."

"I guess…" Lucy said, remembering all that had recently happened; her break-up with Natsu, Lisanna's pregnancy, her feelings and thoughts. It was all very new to her and she didn't know exactly how to act.

"Would you mind—?" asked Elise.

"Mind to what? Oh…" Lucy said, realizing that Elise meant to read her thoughts. "No, not at all."

A moment of silence followed as Elise's hands started to draw patterns on Lucy's back again.

"I see…" she would say occasionally. "You must be very sad."

Lucy felt very light; as if she was floating on the clouds with no worries at all. She felt her eyes becoming heavier and heavier.

"You need to rest you spirit, little one," Elise said in a motherly sort of way. "Everyone needs a little peace."

"Yes, I—"

Lucy felt herself involuntarily close her eyes. She didn't know how or why but she just suddenly did and everything around her faded into black. Though she lost her sense of sight, her mind was still working and she could still hear somehow.

"_Graaaay!_" Elise's voice sounded tense as she called. "_Gray hurry up and help me here!"_

After that, Lucy could no longer hear or feel anything.

Everything was silent.

Everything was peaceful.

* * *

Can I get a drum roll please? I don't know what'll happen next, myself!

Anyway, keep you guys updated?

:D

PEACE AND LOVE OUT!


	32. Side story :

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**FOR THOSE WHO WANTED TO KNOW: **This is what happened to Natsu and Lisanna meanwhile. They sure are in a hurry.

* * *

**-SIDE STORY: NATSU AND LISANNA-**_  
__"Marry me, Lisanna…"_

Natsu flexed his neck muscles and rotated his shoulders. Carrying Lisanna's bags after the hell-ride on the train was seriously taking a toll on his body.

_What did she put in those bags anyway? _He thought.

He and Lisanna had just arrived in Magnolia and Natsu offered to take the girl home. So after the more-or-less six-hour ride, the dragon slayer was inside Lisanna's room, tired and really wanting to collapse in his bed.

"Thanks for taking me home and carrying my bags for me," Lisanna said somewhat sheepishly. She sat down on her bed on the leftmost corner of the room near the door where Natsu was.

"That's okay," he replied with a grin. "Do you need anything else? Is Mira or Elfman coming home soon?"

Lisann merely shook her head. "Nee-san must be taking care of things at the guild and brother must be on a mission somewhere."

"Do you need me to stay here, then?" he asked immediately.

"N-no, that's okay. I've troubled you enough," she confessed. "I'll be fine on my own."

Looking around one more time to see that everything _is _alright, Natsu finally said 'Okay' and turned around to leave.

"Natsu, I—" Lisanna said out of reflex and stood up suddenly, hand clutching her skirt.

"Yeah?" Natsu asked and turned around to face her.

"S-sorry…" the silver-haired maiden said in a small voice after a while.

Without a word, Natsu closed the half-open door behind him and leaned on it.

He scratched the back of his neck and said, "No. It's _I _who should be sorry."

"N-no… About you and Lucy… I don't want to force you into something one-sided—"

"_We_," Natsu said strongly and emphasized on the word, "talked about this already so you don't have to worry about a thing.

"Lucy wants you to have the baby as much as you do," Natsu continued.

"I can't if it means I'll have to live with the guilt of breaking the two of you apart," Lisanna argued back. Her heart was thumping in her chest wildly as she struggled to say the words out loud.

A long silence followed and the two of them were left avoiding each other's gaze. Lisanna released her grip on her skirt and regained composure.

"That's why—" Lisanna started, "I'm allowing you to go back to Lucy."

"You don't get it, do you?" Natsu said, and he stared at her intensely.

"I… don't think I do," she replied.

"I think this is how everything's meant to be," Natsu started as he stood up straight.

"Every time I try to make up with Lucy, something of the contrary happens. I _want _to be with Lucy but things just _aren't _supposed to go my way all the time.

"Just like it won't go _your _way this time," he said and smiled gently at Lisanna. "I'm ready to take responsibility of my actions, Lisanna. And that includes you."

"What about Lucy?" Lisanna asked.

"She'll get by," Natsu said, pouting a bit. "She's… in good hands."

"I…don't know what to say," Lisanna said, still avoiding Natsu's eyes.

"I do…" Natsu said seriously.

Lisanna looked up to him, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"Marry me, Lisanna."

The girl felt as if time had stopped. Did she just hear what she thought she did? If yes, was Natsu _serious_? How old was she, anyway? She's not in her twenties yet and neither was he; were they ready for such a commitment?

It took a while for Lisanna's brain to process the current situation.

"Oi! Lisanna!" Natsu said, eyebrows meeting. He felt as if Lisanna had turned to stone. "Are you listening?"

"I… I am, but…" she replied slowly. "Did you just say that?"

"Uh… yeah, I did."

"A-are you serious?"

"_Dead _serious."

"But," Lisanna said indecisively, "You don't love me, do you?"

Natsu remained silent and touched the back of his neck yet again.

After a while, he said, "Will you teach me?"

With eyes full of hope and love, Lisanna stood up, ran to Natsu and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"I will," she said in tears. "I will."

* * *

Everyone's _invited_!

Bring your own beer and food. I'll see you there! ^^


	33. SWEET, RANDOM MOMENTS

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: SWEET, RANDOM MOMENTS-**_  
__"Act fast, Gray… A woman can easily change her mind."_

"_Graaaaay!" _he heard her say.

It was very unusual for Elise to sound so frantic and so it worried him to hear her shout his name so loudly.

Then it hit him.

"_Lucy…_" he unconsciously whispered.

Without thinking twice, he stood up and wiped his greasy hands on his pants as he ran toward the direction of Elise's voice.

* * *

Lucy woke up to the sensation that something was tickling the bridge of her nose.

She lazily raised a hand and scratched the part and only then did she realize that she was awake.

She stirred before finally opening her eyes and moving around.

"_Oh, good! _You're awake," said a familiar voice, that of a woman. "I was starting to wonder when you'd get up."

Lucy, realizing that she was lying on a bed, sat up slowly and noticed that she was now wearing a light pink nightgown under the white sheets that covered her. Beside her was Elise, radiant as always, hair in a messy bun and wearing an apron.

"What happened?" the blonde mage asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I feel so light."

"You fainted," Elise explained. "It was probably the smell of the grass in the steam; same thing happened to me the first time."

"The… grass?"

"Yeah…" Elise put a small table in front of Lucy. "For simplicity's sake, the grass lets out a very relaxing aroma when it's exposed to steam. I guess the smell was a bit new to you. _Here._"

The red-head put a large bowl of soup and some sliced mango on the table in front of Lucy. Only then did the Stellar Spirit mage realize that she was very hungry and so flushed as her stomach grumbled un protest.

"I guess all that relaxation was making me hungry…" Lucy joked.

"I don't blame you…" Elise smiled, sitting down beside Lucy and handing her a spoon. "You must've been very stressed to be able to sleep since last night!"

"Pardon?" _Last night?_

"You've been sleeping since last night, Lucy," Elise explained.

"Th-that long?!"

Elise nodded and gestured for Lucy to start eating. Lucy did so obediently and looked around the room.

It was a very simple and small one; near Lucy's left, close to Elise, was a bedside table and on it was an old lamp. Behind Elise was a door and beside it was a short coat hanger. Shifting her gaze straight ahead, Lucy saw a big closet with a tall mirror attached to it. This closet, because of the room's petite area, stood only about five yards from Lucy. There were two windows towards Lucy's right and these windows showed the night view of the unnoticeable forest outside. From this view, Lucy wagered that they were on a second floor. Aside from these two windows, the walls were practically empty. Shifting her gaze yet again, Lucy finally took notice of a long couch in front of the windows.

On that couch to her right, Gray sat, his head resting on his knuckle.

The moment their eyes met, so did Gray's eyebrows and he turned his gaze away from the blonde mage.

"Is this your room, Elise?" Lucy asked, taking her first spoonful of warm chicken soup. "It's pretty simple."

"Oh, no," Elise said. "This used to be Gray's room when he was still under my wing."

"I see… That explains the simplicity of things," she said. "But how did I get here? Did you carry me _all _the way up here?"

"Wrong again!" Elise said, wiggling a finger at Lucy. "I couldn't possibly carry you so I called _Gray _up to do the carrying."

"_What?_" Lucy said, immediately turning to Gray. Like her, Gray was also slowly turning crimson.

"He was very worried about you, you know," the woman teased. "After his nose bled massively—"

"_My nose did not bleed—"_ Gray protested, then continued, "—massively!"

"So you confess!" Lucy said, covering the sheets all over her, as if she was still naked. "_Gray you pervert!_"

"Don't flatter yourself, I've seen bigger and better!" he snapped back.

"I… think I'll go down a bit," Elise said and hurriedly went out of the room, leaving Gray and Lucy in awkward and shy silence.

"You should at least thank me, damn it," he said after a while, still not looking at Lucy. From Lucy's point of view, his ears still seemed red.

"Thank you…" she said as her grip on the sheets loosened and she flushed even more. "I was just—"

"I'm a guy so that was just a normal reaction but… I'm_ not _that kind of guy," Gray assured.

"I know…" Lucy said, ashamed.

"Well, you'd better start to pack up 'cause we're leaving…"

Gray closed the door behind him and heaved a sigh when he finally thought he was alone.

_Phoo! _Elise blew on his still-crimson ear.

"_WHAT THE HELL, ELISE! DON'T EVER DO THAT!_"

"You were thinking about what you saw last night," she teased. "You really _are _a pervert!"

"Shut up! That's because that was the most recent topic; it doesn't imply anything significant."

"No, it doesn't…" Elise said, leaning on the door beside her adoptive son. "…except that you really like her."

Gray once again heaved a sigh. He squat on the floor without looking at Elise.

"You're not going to try again?" the woman said, imitating Gray.

"I am…" Gray said immediately. "Just… not now."

"You're too nice, kid,"

"You taught me that, you know."

"I'm glad I taught you something other than cooking and bad language," she joked.

"But I don't want to expect…"

"You're scared you'd get rejected again?"

Gray made no reply.

"And you think she's not ready for a new relationship."

The ice mage still remained silent.

"Act fast, Gray," Elise warned, "A woman can easily change her mind."

* * *

"Thank you so much for everything, Elise!" Lucy said, bowing out of respect.

"Oh, you dear!" Elise said, opening her arms out and pulling Lucy in a tight hug. "I'll miss you!"

"I will, too…" Lucy said after she could breathe again. "I'll visit sometime and maybe even get cooking lessons."

"Don't worry about that 'cause I taught Gray _all _the basics," she said, and then turned to the ice mage. "And _you_…"

"What?" he said monotonously in a poker face.

"Take care of yourself."

"Will do," Gray said, smiling warmly at Elise. "Well, we'd better go. We still have to pack up at the hotel."

Gray put on his helmet and started his newly-fixed bike. Lucy did the same and wore her helmet.

"Bye, Elise! I'll see you when I see you," Lucy said, riding behind Gray.

"Visit often. And Gray!" Elise said, then threw a small bottle with parchment inside at Gray.

"What's this?" he asked, catching it with his free hand.

"You'll find out," she said. "Well, off with you!"

"See ya…" Gray said for the last time.

"Bye, Elise!" said Lucy.

Then, she grabbed on to Gray's waist as they rode away and disappeared into the night.

* * *

I really suck at endings, don't I?

Ugh, I hate myself… No, not really…


	34. Gray's Sentiments

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **We're going to have a whole chapter on Gray because he's soooooooooooo adorable!

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: GRAY'S SENTIMENTS-**_  
__"I'm not scared! I just feel as if she's not ready for me yet!"_

Usually, he wouldn't even bother to close his eyes during a trip. But he just felt so tired that his eyes seemed to do so immediately when they rode on the train. The curious thing was that even though he had the closed, his mind was awake. It must have been because he was fixing his bike for two days straight.

_Damn that woman,_ he thought. If Elise thought like any normal human being would, she wouldn't have snapped the wires of Gray's motorcycle and loosen almost all the nuts and bolts.

And why?

_Probably because she wanted some company in the mean time, _he thought again. He couldn't blame her, though. She had been living alone for who knows how long and sudden visits from Gray really make her happy.

He sighed, wondering when he'll actually be able to visit his adoptive mother again.

Then, the train's whistle blew and told Gray that they had just arrived at Magnolia's station as they made a sudden halt.

_Thud!_

A small noise came from Gray's left which made him open his heavy eyes.

"_Ow…"_ Lucy groaned.

Gray turned to her and saw that she had just bumped her head on the train's window.

"You okay?" he asked.

Lucy made no answer. She seemed to be still half-asleep without any knowledge what was happening around her.

Gray smirked. "You'd better wake up 'cause we're here. You can sleep in your house when we get there."

"_Hrm…" _Lucy replied. Gray wondered whether or not she understood what he was saying.

Then she grabbed onto the ice mage's sleeve, pulled herself closer and leaned on his shoulder.

After that, she went back to sleep.

Without even knowing what to do or how to feel, Gray stiffened.

Gray turned his head towards Lucy's. From that distance, he could smell Lucy's shampoo.

His gut made a summersault; he had always felt that way whenever things like these happened. He wondered when he'll be able to confess again. He had done so a while back at the resort but now it seemed harder for him, knowing Lucy probably won't be as open to a relationship as she was before.

And to make things worse, he didn't know if he had that much of a chance.

_Tap! Tap!_

One of the service crews knocked on their compartment door. "Sir, we've just arrived."

"Uh, yeah… I'm aware of that," Gray replied. He could feel the stellar spirit mage breathe comfortably beside him. "We'll be off in a moment."

"Okay, sir," the other man who looked older than Gray said.

Gray only nodded and the man left. Then he looked at Lucy, sleeping soundly on his shoulder.

_Just a bit longer_, he thought. _Let us stay like this just a bit longer._

He put his right hand beside him to give him additional support when he accidentally tapped Elise's bottle.

_Come to think of it, I've never really read whatever's inside_, he thought.

Then, with one hand, Gray unscrewed the cap and took the pieces of parchment inside.

* * *

_Click!_

Lucy turned the doorknob and made her way into the dark room. It was still fours in the morning then and Gray accompanied her to her house.

Gray was also nice enough to carry her luggage for her, too. The last minute-shopping with Lisanna gave her additional items to carry and despite Gray's equally heavy load, he insisted on taking her home.

'_Not safe,' he said, _Lucy repeated Gray's reason for taking her home. She smiled as she let herself feel extremely safe when she's with Gray.

She turned the light on and sniffed to smell the sweetness of home.

"Where should I put this?" Gray asked.

"Oh, just put it there on the floor. I'll take care of it later," Lucy said, putting her hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Gray."

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

"Do you want to stay for some coffee?"

"Nah… You'd better get some rest."

"Thank you."

"I know. You already said that," he joked. Lucy smiled. "Oh, yeah, by the way!"

Gray reached for his back pocket and took out two pieces of paper, one of which he gave to Lucy.

"Elise gave it to me but I think it's meant to be given to you."

"Thanks," Lucy said, taking the paper.

"Well, I'll leave now."

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, as if waiting for one to do something for the other. In the end, Gray turned his back and waved goodbye at Lucy.

_Gray._ To Lucy, it seemed as if Gray wanted to _kiss _her.

"_Eeeep!_" Lucy said, putting both hands on her now crimson cheeks. "I _can't _possibly be thinking about this!"

* * *

_Tk! _

Gray turned his head to the side one more time to stretch his neck muscles. When he got home, he immediately collapsed on his bean bag without even changing his clothes or thinking about his position while sleeping; only to find out that he would wake up with a sore back and stiff neck.

He sighed. "This is so tiring."

Now, he was in front of the request board near the bar, looking for a worthy job to do. Much to his surprise, not many people were there. He was starting to wonder whether they were hiding from him or something. Mirajane was there, as usual but there was no Erza, no Kana, no Lisanna, not even Natsu.

"Hey."

Gray smirked. "Speak of the devil."

"How's the trip?" Natsu was leaning beside the request board, not looking at Gray but straight ahead.

"It was cool," Gray replied emotionlessly. Somehow, he was still a bit mad at Natsu; at least now it was controllable.

"And Lucy?"

"Are you even in the position to care for her?"

"Just answer me."

"At her house. Probably sleeping," Gray finally said. "And Lisanna?"

"At her house, resting."

"Good."

A long and awkward silence followed. Natsu just leaned silently and Gray was still looking for a mission to do.

"Is Lucy okay now?" Natsu was the first to break the silence.

"She's stronger than she looks. I think she'll manage," Gray finally took a piece of paper from the board and scanned it one more time.

"Are you…" Natsu paused to find the right words, "…_making progress?_"

Butterflies were released in Gray's stomach at once and his face felt hot. Natsu sure was good at saying things straight to the point.

"I'm… looking for my chance," he said. "And you and Lisanna?"

Natsu fell silent then stood straight to face Gray. "I… asked her to marry me."

"What?! Soon?!"

"No, idiot," Natsu said. "Someday, when I'm ready."

"Are you going to tell Lucy?"

"I'm considering it."

"You stupid flamehead, not thinking of the consequences of your actions. Don't tell her yet. She's still healing right now. You're adding insult to injury!" Gray grabbed Natsu's scarf and pulled him dangerously close. If his eyes had bullets, Natsu would've been shot already.

"_You _were the one who said that she's stronger than she looks!" Natsu retaliated and grabbed the collar of Gray's jacket. "And isn't this exactly why you should make you move?!"

Gray was stunned at Natsu's strong statement.

"This is why I trusted her to you; because I knew you'd be there for her now that _I _can't," Natsu continued.

"I… don't know how to start," Gray stammered and put his hand on his head.

"You idiot! Just confess to her already!"

"It's not that easy you flame bastard! The last time I did, I got dumped!" Gray was thankful nobody was around except for Mira. He could scream embarrassing facts out loud without getting made fun of.

"You're a coward, Gray! You don't want to make a move because you're scared to get dumped!"

"I'm not scared! I just feel as if she's not ready for me yet!"

Their eyes met strongly, as if exchanging words by them. Then, with somewhat mutual understanding, they smirked and the smirk turned to laughter.

"You know, if you weren't so annoying, I actually think you'd be a nice guy," Gray said.

"And if _you _kept your mouth shut, you could actually be cool," Natsu snapped back.

"Well, I'm leaving," the ice mage said, punching Natsu's shoulder not-so-hardly.

"Really, Gray. You should make your move now."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll do that now."

Gray, then, turned around and walked out the guild.

_As if it's that easy to do_.

* * *

By now, you guys should actually know that I am a _lousy, lousy, LOUSY _updater.

Sorry!


	35. Strawberries

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Weird title. I know. -_-

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: STRAWBERRIES-**_  
__"__It represents the maker's love for the one who's eating it…"_

_Tok! Tok! Tok!_

Gray knocked on the familiar wooden door he had been to earlier that day. He didn't even know why he went there, maybe it's because of Natsu's teasing that did.

But it was true, what he said. He wasn't scared at all! _The Great Gray-sama? Scared? Nonsense!_ He was just thinking of Lucy and how confused she would feel if he made his move.

_Tok! Tok! Tok!_

He knocked again. Could Lucy still be sleeping? Should h come back later?

Suddenly, in the middle of his thoughts, the door slowly creaked open.

"Well, you sure took a long time—" Gray paused to see that no one was facing him. _Who opened the door, then?_

"_Puuuuuun…_"

Gray looked down and Plue, Lucy's least dangerous celestial spirit, was starting up at him, shaking as usual. Plue raised a hand at Gray in greeting.

"Y-yo…" Gray replied, raising a hand himself.

"Gray!" Lucy said, taking Plue from the floor into her arms like a stuffed toy. "What brings you here?"

"I was—" Gray couldn't think up of a reason so he chose to change the subject instead, "—what are you wearing?"

"Oh, this?" Lucy said, looking down at her messy apron. "I was… tossing a salad."

"_That _salad?"

"Y-yeah…" she said sheepishly, then opened the door wide enough for Gray to come in. "Come on in, Gray."

"Thanks."

Lucy put Plue on the messy dining table then straightened her apron. Under the apron, she was wearing a blue tank top and _really _short shorts.

"I'm really glad you gave me the recipe, too," Lucy said gleaming at Gray.

"It was from Elise, I think it was meant for you."

"And though I'm not very confident with my cooking skills," Lucy started, "I think it went pretty well."

"Your kitchen is a mess. If it didn't go well then you must really _suck_."

"Thank you, Gray. That's very nice of you," Lucy said sarcastically. "Here."

Lucy put a bowl of salad on the clear side of the table.

"It looks decent," Gray said. "Are you sure it's not poisoned?"

"_Ha, ha, ha. _Very funny, Gray Fullbuster," Lucy said, not taking Gray's statement as a joke. "Try it before you say that."

"Are you sure?" Gray sat down on the chair and Lucy sat perpendicular to him. "You tasted this already?"

"N-no…" she said. "That's why I was glad you came here."

"This better be good, Lucy," Gray said with a gulp. He took some salad and put it in his mouth. Then he slowly chewed it, making Lucy anxious.

"S-so, how is it?"

"I think you put too much pepper here. And the chicken is half-cooked. But other you did a good job with the mayo, though. Not much salt."

Lucy's eyes sparkled as she stared at Gray, who was busy looking for something in the salad. "Really—? Hey, what are you looking for?"

"Wasn't there supposed to be a strawberry slice here?" he asked.

"Oh, that… You—_like _strawberries?"

"Not really but I can eat them. Isn't that the most important thing in this salad?"

"Yeah… Th-the strawberry symbolizes the maker's _heart_," Lucy started. "When my mom makes this for me, she would always give me a _huge _slice of strawberry.

"It represents… the maker's love for the one who's eating it and—"

"Oh…" Gray said, taking a huge gulp of water. "I see—"

"But if you want to have strawberry with that—" Lucy said, fidgeting. _Oh, boy, this is awkward._

"No, that's fine. I _completely _understand that you don't want me to _misunderstand_," Gray said hastily.

"I have some strawberries here somewhere," Lucy tried to stand up, "I—"

"N-no, that's okay… Luce…" Gray said, grabbing Lucy's wrist and stopping her in her tracks. "It's fine."

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Lucy said, "Did I offend you in any way? I just didn't think you'd be looking for the strawberry and all."

"That's fine. It was my bad. I didn't know what it meant so," Gray cleared his throat. "No damage done at all."

Lucy rubbed her arm for some reason and Gray took another gulp of water. Everything was silent except for Plue's _puuun_-ing and the clock that was tick-tock-ing nearby.

"W-well, I'd better go, I need to fix some stuff back at home," Gray announced and he immediately stood up from his seat.

"Y-yeah… Thanks for s-stopping by," Lucy tried to seem calm but lost it in the end.

"I'm leaving," Gray said. "Maybe you could toss me some salad sometime…"

"That's be nice, Gray," Lucy said sheepishly. "See you!"

"Yeah, see ya."

* * *

He's seriously thought he'd quit smoking. But that night, he just found himself lighting up a stick while opening a can of beer. He knew very well that smoking was bad for the lungs and so he tried to quit so… _what happened?_

He didn't know either. Maybe it was some sort of teen hormone surge and the withdrawal that he's experiencing now.

He took a long sip, then, he coughed it up. _I guess I'm not as much of a smoker as I used to be_. Gray, then, pulled out the stick from his mouth and threw it to the fireplace.

"Good riddens," he smirked then drank the contents of the bottle on his hand.

The events that happened that afternoon at Lucy's got Gray thinking.

_It represents the maker's love for the one who's eating it…_ Lucy's voice echoed in his mind. Then, he took Elise's letter to him. It read:

_Gray, I'm giving you a recipe of the salad Lucy ate._

_It's important that you make it for her. This is your chance so stop being such a baby._

_Do it or live in regret for the rest of your life._

_Love, Elise._

_P.S. Visit me soon._

Gray only smiled at this letter as he took another gulp of beer. He had only read it now. If only he did before giving it to Lucy, things would've been different. But there was no use in regretting it now. Things happen for a reason; maybe this was how it's supposed to be—for a _happy ending_.

"Keh!" Gray said as he laid on his back on the floor. He stared at the ceiling in his dark and lonely living room. "When did I start thinking about happy endings, anyway?"

_Rustle. Rustle._

Gray stopped in his thoughts. He was sure he heard something from outside his house.

He sat up and listened harder.

Nothing.

_The stress is going into my head! _Gray concluded. Then, he stood up started to clean up his mess on the living room.

_Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap._

_Footsteps? _Gray immediately turned around. This time, he was sure that something—_or someone_—was outside his door.

Slowly, he approached the entrance of his house.

"Who's there?!" Gray exclaimed as he swiftly opened the door.

However, nobody was around.

Gray put a hand on his tired head and looked down. He must be hearing things. He was probably tired. Then, he noticed a small basket on the floor.

"What—?" he said, uncovering it. Gray laughed as he saw the contents of the small basket: inside lay a single slice of strawberry and a card.

The card read:

_Gray:_

_I'm giving you this as a token of my appreciation for everything you've done for me._

_I can't thank you enough for being such a good friend._

_I'm glad I met you._

_- Lucy_

* * *

I suck at making sound effects. It's so hard!


	36. The Mission

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Okay. So _some _of the readers asked me when I would update. I'm so sorry. I didn't really want to be so slow but time for having fun and stuff is just so limited. I have another _batch _of exams coming up and this was just a chapter I made during my _only _free time. So sorry for being so slow, mind. So sorry.

**SOMETHING NEW: **I wanted to do some action scenes so I guess you guys'll be the first to read my _(crappy) _action writing in the next few chapters. _Enjoy!_

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: THE MISSION-**_  
"At that moment, she wished she'd never taken the mission in the first place."_

"_Damn it! You're not getting away this time!_"

Lucy's voice echoed as she rushed in her footsteps after a cloaked menace, apparently her target for the mission.

_The man is incredibly fast, _Lucy thought. And if he'd keep up this chase, Lucy just might run out of breath and give up; then wait a day or two to get a trace of him in the area.

Why in the world had she chosen this mission again? Lucy ran the thoughts in her mind as she put twigs and leaves out of her face. Running in her high-heeled boots in a very rocky surface of the woods was taking a toll on her foot. She should have worn her flats after all.

_What was I thinking of again? _Oh, yeah; the reason why she chose this mission. She came back to the happenings three days ago…

* * *

Lucy tiptoed her way through the wooden floor of the guild. It was still very early and she was sure to herself it was empty except for probably a few early birds. As expected, nobody was drinking or standing by doing nothing. She breathed out. She wasn't sure why but somehow she felt that if people were around they would be asking things about her, Natsu and Lisanna; then, that would just be disastrous.

She glanced at the request board; it was practically empty. And whenever it was empty, the requests left on it were ones which usually had a lousy reward.

_What rotten luck, _she thought. Just when she needed to pay her rent, too.

To the right of the request board was the bar where Mirajane stood, her back on Lucy, mopping up the dirty floor.

"Mira-san~!" Lucy greeted as she sat on the high chair in front of the counter.

Mira flinched due to slight shock, turned around and after seeing Lucy, she immediately dropped the mop and pulled the blonde into a tight hug.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Lucy-chan!" Mira broke the hug but her hand remained gently on the girl's shoulder. "How are you? How was the vacation?"

"One at a time, Mira-san!" she giggled. "I'm doing good with all that's happening. And I enjoyed the vacation, too."

Mira smiled at her gently. The kind of smile that said '_Thank-you-for-being-so-strong-and-so-considerate.'_ Why wouldn't she, anyway? Lisanna was pregnant with Natsu's child which made them break up in a not-so-violent manner.

"But I'm not here for that, Mira-san," she said. "Are there any new high-paying jobs that you're gonna post?"

"Well…" Mira started, glancing at the request board, then back at Lucy. "Usually, I won't post new requests until all the jobs have been taken but for you I'll make an exception."

Mira winked and took a bunch of rolled paper then laid it on the countertop.

"Go on and take your pick," Mira said then went back to her mopping. "But don't tell anyone I did this for you."

* * *

And so that was what happened. She went for the seemingly-easiest one with the highest reward. What's more was that she had to go alone since Natsu was attending to Lisanna, Erza was on another S-class mission _(Erza had invited her but Lucy didn't like the sound of _'demon' _and _'subdue'_ in one sentence) _and Gray was also off on a mission.

The thought of being so alone made Lucy feel so incapable; and it _irritated _her just to think that even _she _looked down on herself.

But it all had to stop now. She would do this mission alone even if it kills her.

"Stop running away from me! The reward I'd get is for three months of rent!" Lucy called loudly.

The man in the cloak turned around and threw something in front of Lucy.

It was round and smooth painted black with odd writings around it.

"_Smoke bomb!_" she shrieked.

With a loud pop, Lucy covered her face and made a sudden halt. _Damn! _She should've just pinned him to the ground when she had the chance!

When the smoke started to clear up, Lucy started moving and running in pursuit of the man again. This time, however, she took off her boots and ran as fast as she could and finally coming up to a wooden gate that was half open. Without any second thoughts, she kicked it open, causing the hinge to loosen and the gate to collapse due to its weight.

"Where could he have gone?" she thought, looking around.

It was a weird sort of place to see in the middle of the woods. It seemed to be an old-fashioned Japanese bath house; only, it _wasn't_ a bath house but more of a _house_. And because it was a house, then someone lived there. And that would mean she was _trespassing. _

She gulped.

Surely, if she just walked back slowly, they wouldn't notice she was even there.

Taking one careful step behind her, Lucy started to make her way out.

_So far, so good, _she thought.

Lucy took another step back; then realized that something cold was touching the back of her neck.

It wasn't big. It felt like just a point; it felt sharp, too.

_A sword? _The sweat streamed down Lucy's forehead. _Oh, no._

"State your name and your purpose," said a man's voice from behind her, "Or never speak again."

At that moment, she wished she'd never taken the mission in the first place.

* * *

Who in the _world _could this guy be?

So, yeah…. I'll leave you hanging there… And no, it's probably not who you think it is… hahaha!

See you in the next chapter!


	37. The Mission 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: THE MISSION 2-**_  
"How would you like a proposition?"_

Everything about the house felt nostalgic to Lucy. Not that she had been there before—which was impossible. It was the atmosphere that made it all nostalgic.

From the wooden walls that smelled strongly of paint and varnish to the floor that creaked and made a dull tip-tapping sound whenever they walked, even the feeling that she was in trouble; it all felt as if she'd been there before.

The question was, _why?_

"_Ow! Careful or you'll tear off my arm!_" Lucy complained. The man in front of her—apparently dragging her, too—was walking in a very fast state, as if he was being chased by somebody.

This man, Lucy said to herself, was the same man who had caught her trespassing. Could this be his house? Maybe not. He was dressed in an odd fashion: he was wearing an armour from his chest to his waist and he had a sword strapped on it as well. He looked like a body guard.

"I can feel you staring at me," he said coldly.

_This guy… Is he a narcissist?_ Lucy ran the thoughts in her mind about this man. Talk about thinking too highly of yourself! Although he had all the right to do so, though. The man had a very well-toned figure, much like Natsu's or Gray's. He had long silver hair that spiked in all directions like Loki's. And his voice was deep and cold—like Gazille's?

The Stellar Spirit mage shook her head vigorously. _Why was I even thinking of such thoughts?_

The man stopped at a huge door and knocked.

"Sir, there's a very suspicious woman here. I found her in a rampage outside your home," he said.

"I wasn't in a rampage, you _liar!_" Lucy protested as the man tightened his grip on her.

"Send her in," said another man inside. This man's voice made butterflies in Lucy's stomach flutter. Why was his voice so dictatorial?

The man opened the doors and dragged Lucy inside. It was a huge library whose walls were filled with books from ceiling to floor. Lucy smiled as she looked at all the books; she felt as if she was in heaven! Her nose caught the familiar smell of old paper. Would they mind if she takes a book or two? Or a few?

"As expected of you, Toushiro." asked the man sitting in front of them. He was about in his forties or early fifties as shown by his gray hair that was sleekly pulled to the back in a small ponytail. He had a very aristocratic look on his face, coupled by the well-made suit he wore. He must be the master of the house. "Who are _you_?"

"My name is Lucy and I mean you no trouble at all," she explained. "This man here was lying when he said I was in a rampage. I was chasing my target for a mission and I thought he ran into this place."

"You _kicked _the door that was already open. Surely, that meant you were in a rampage?" the man Toushiro snapped.

"As I said, I was running after a kidnapper-murderer-thief named Walden O' Rosin so of course I'd be pumped. I didn't mean to come here, though, and I'm sorry for breaking your gate. If you'd like, I would leave as soon as possible. I'm very sorry," she said, bowing.

"Are you a mage?" the man in a suit asked.

"Yes," Lucy replied, raising her left hand. "I'm a mage of Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail? Your guild's fame has reached even me," the man said. "How would you like a proposition?"

"From a man I don't even know?"

"Oh, so impolite of me…" he said, standing up and facing the window, his back at Lucy. "My name is Ivan Sommerfield."

"Sommerfield? You mean the owner of the diamond mines in the Southern Countries?!" Lucy said, surprised.

"You are well-informed," he complimented. "You see I'm faced with a very big problem right now."

"Go on," Lucy said.

"Someone is threatening to kill my daughter if I don't close my company," he said and turned to Lucy. "How would you like it if I pay you twice the amount of money your mission offers you in exchange that you help protect my daughter?"

"What about food and my lodging?"

"You will be free to stay and eat here in my home."

"Deal," Lucy said. "But I still get to do my mission, okay?"

"Very well. Just make sure it doesn't get in the way of your duty to me," the man turned to Toushiro. "Show her around, will you, Toushiro?"

"As you wish," he bowed and made his way out of the room. Lucy followed him.

* * *

"So sorry for my manners back there," Toushiro said as he walked beside Lucy in a somewhat friendly manner. "I guess you looked very threatening."

"Need I remind you that no one who wants to kill a business tycoon's daughter will be so loud about their attacks?" she said, laughing.

"I guess you're right," he said, showing a toothy grin. "My name is Toushiro, as you've heard."

"Lucy."

"So, Fairy Tail, huh?" Toushiro said, then pointed to a room they just passed. "That's our bedroom."

"Yeah… Wait, _our _bedroom?"

"Uh-huh…" Toushiro nodded. "Right now, there are three people assigned to this mission and with you included that would make it four."

"Can't I have a room of my own? I mean, I _am _a woman and all."

"Naaah. You don't have to worry about it. None of us are men who would go for the likes of _you_."

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" Lucy blushed as the man laughed in a very embarrassing way.

"Just in time, too," he said. "_Ren!_"

Lucy looked up at front and saw a tall woman with very long blonde hair, wearing a kimono. Upon hearing the name 'Ren,' she turned and smiled at Toushiro.

"Nii-san!" she said and walked to Toushiro. "Oh, we have another visitor?"

"Her name's Lucy and she'd be joining us from now on."

"N-nice to meet you!" Lucy stuttered at Ren's stunning beauty. Her perfectly slit-like green eyes and the straight blonde hair; the perfect figure and the warm voice; it was as if she had met a goddess.

"Nice to meet you, too, Lucy-chan!" Ren said and pulled Lucy into a tight hug.

_She smells nice_, Lucy thought and blushed. But wait. Something felt very _odd_. As if there was something missing.

_Her chest is… flat._ Lucy broke the hug and placed her hands on Ren's chest.

"_You're a man!_" she said, raising her hands frantically in the air.

"Did you think I was a woman?" Ren asked, half-laughing as Lucy nodded, her face beet red. "Everybody thinks that when they first see me."

"You're very beautiful!" Lucy said.

"_Ren-nii-saaaan!_" called a child's voice. Then small footsteps that came closer and closer could be heard.

"She's here…" Ren said and sighed. "Lulu-chan, over here!"

A young girl with short gray hair in a kimono came running into their direction.

"Hide me!" she said, and hid behind Ren playfully. "He's coming!"

"_Who's coming?_" Ren asked.

Instead of replying, the girl only smiled and turned to see Lucy looking wide-eyed at her.

"A new onee-san?" she said looking up at Lucy.

"Hello, my name is Lucy."

"This is Lulu-chan," Ren said and Toushiro came to his side and carried Lulu in his arms. "She's the Sommerfield heiress; and our mission to protect."

"I see…" Lucy said. Girl with insanely rich father? _Been there._ "Nice to meet you, Lulu-chan. I'll be protecting you, too, from now on."

"I don't like you," she said plainly. "Go away."

"Lulu-chan! That's not nice!" Ren exclaimed as Lucy was dumbfounded at the statement.

"Onee-san's can't protect me. They're weak," Lulu-chan explained. "Go away."

Somehow, Lucy could feel the rejection slap her in the face. _This girl's got spunk!_

"Lulu! Where are you?!" called another man's voice. Footsteps came closer again as Lucy turned to look at the corner for whoever was going to come out.

"She's over here!" Toushiro called out and Lulu clung to him tighter.

"I'm going to get you, Lulu!"

Another man with short black hair entered the scene. He was wearing a white jacket and black pants that seemed familiar to Lucy.

"Gray?!"

Gray looked up.

"Lucy?! What are you doing here?!"

* * *

****Three of my OC's are stuck together in one chapter.

Toushiro, Ren's older _twin _brother who uses swords magic much like Erza's. Then, Ren, the younger twin, who uses pheromones *weird, I know* and illusions as his magic. They're independent mages, not belonging to any guild in particular. Maybe they'll join Fairy Tail? Hm...

Then we have Lulu-chan, our young heiress. Lucy empathizes with her, being an heiress in her own way. However, Lulu doesn't seem to like women for some reason and prefers men, seeing them stronger and more capable. She's a smart and mischievous girl, too.

Now _how _would this story end up? -_-

And am I making it too long for you? sorry!


	38. Warmth

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I think that Ren and Toushiro are really cute together. Don't you?

**WARNING: **Long chapter… tsk… sorry!

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: WARMTH-**_  
"It just needs a little patience, love and warmth."_

It was already dark then. The Sommerfield home was silent and everyone in it was asleep.

Well, _almost _everyone. In the guest room, four people were cramped together in a small space, having barely enough room to move about in their sleep. Usually, Ren would be able to sleep as soon as the light went out but tonight, it was something different. He didn't mind it, though, the strange feeling of alienation, but instead he was even _amused_.

He crept in closer beside his twin brother, Toushiro, and laid his head on his shoulder, near his ear.

Feeling the heavy weight of Ren's head, Toushiro moved his hand to Ren's head and shifted it to a more comfortable position.

Hand still on his twin's head, Toushiro faced him and whispered, "What?"

"So you're still awake, nii-san…" Ren smiled and buried his head on his brother's side.

"What?" he repeated.

"You can feel it, too?"

"Oh… Yeah…"

"Those two seem to be awake, too," Ren said, obviously amazed.

"That doesn't mean you can be so loud," Toushiro said and inclined his head closer to his twin's.

Ren giggled and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Gray was obviously stirring on his back. He couldn't sleep at all for like, the third night already. How can he? On his right were _incestuous _twin brothers who act more like lovers and on his left was Lucy who slept so closely beside him.

_Why does this room have to be so small, anyway? _He asked himself.

He sat up and glanced around the cold and dark room. To his right, the twins, who seemed to be asleep, were snuggled together comfortably. Nothing strange outside except that the wind was particularly strong and the sound of the trees as they swayed in it was actually very mellow.

_The door isn't locked_, he thought. He stood up and went to the door to lock it, unconsciously brushing his foot against Lucy's causing her to wake up.

"Gray? Where're you going?" Lucy asked, half-awake.

"Just going to lock the door or the wind'll open it," he replied, not even looking at her.

"Oh," Lucy shivered. "It's cold. Is it _always _this cold here?"

"At night, yeah. Take my blanket, I'll be fine without it." Gray offered and handed the blanket to Lucy.

"Are you mad at me?" Lucy asked.

"What? _No_, of course not!" he exclaimed a bit loudly. Ren stirred and groaned a bit, causing Gray to cover his mouth.

"Shh!" Lucy said.

"It's scary to wake Ren up forcibly. He gets in a bad mood and takes on a completely different personality," Gray said, sweating, as if he'd just been ordered around by Erza.

"R-really?" Lucy asked and found it hard to believe. Somehow, she couldn't see the sweet Ren that greeted her earlier that day becoming blood thirsty and dark. "_Atishooo!"_

"Bless you," Gray joked. "Get back to sleep or you'll end up with pneumonia."

He put his own blanket around Lucy.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," he boasted. "I'm used to the cold—_Atishooo!"_

Slightly shivering, Gray lay on his head and put on his jacket, trying to give herself additional warmth.

"Yeah, right." Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. Then she took the blanket and put it over Gray.

"What—?" Gray said as he felt her rejecting his gentlemanly offer. "You—"

Lucy grabbed her pillow and put it close to Gray and she, herself, laid her head on it while snuggling closer to Gray.

"Don't get any wrong ideas," she said and felt herself blushing. "But it's always been warmer when you're with someone you hold dear."

Gray smiled, then turned on his side and shared the blanket with Lucy. "Is that right?"

"Y-yeah…" she said and Gray held her even closer. "But this—this is just for tonight, okay?"

"Whatever," Gray replied, thankful that it was dark except for the moonlight that penetrated the room. He could feel that he wouldn't be able to hide the smile on his face by then.

* * *

Lucy got used to using spoons and so she found it hard to use chopsticks again. But that wouldn't be enough to stop her from filling her hungry stomach, though.

Very carefully, she held the sticks on her hand and used it to pick up the egg rolls on her plate. Then, as meticulous as she picked it, she placed it in her mouth and enjoyed the taste of the tangy dish.

"Mmm!" she could only say. "Compliments to the cook!"

"Thanks!" Toushiro said, his head raised glowing at Lucy's remark.

"You're really good, Toushiro-san!"

Ren sighed. "I envy you, Gray-kun..."

"Hmm?" Gray looked up, his faced puffed up as his mouth was full of food. "Why?"

"You have such a cute girlfriend!"

Lucy choked. "I'm not—really, I'm not..."

"What she said..."

"Oh..." Ren said, then lay his head on the small table they were eating on. "I wish I had a girlfriend."

"Ren, put your head off of the table!" Toushiro ordered.

"You haven't had a girlfriend, Ren-san?"

"Nope," he replied immediately. "But I had a lot of boyfriends though..."

"What—?" Lucy said in disbelief.

"Actually," Ren leaned in closer to her with such a sheepish look on his face that he was blushing, "Shiro-nii-san and I are in an open relationship..."

"Wha—?"

"He doesn't like to brag about it but—"

Ren made a halt in his statement as Toushiro hit the back of his head with a frying pan.

"Stop making up stories, idiot..."

"Owwiee..." Ren said, the corner of his eyes filling up with tears. "Lucy-chan, nii-san hit me on the head with a frying pan!"

"You're too young, Ren!" His twin exclaimed.

"What?!" Ren protested. "I'm twenty-two and Lucy is what, seventeen?"

Lucy nodded and the feminine man clung to Lucy's waist and laid his head on her chest. This time, it was Gray's turn to hit Ren on the head with Toushiro's frying pan.

"Are you trying to injure me before we finish our mission?" Ren said, trying to gain empathy.

"Ah!" Lucy exclaimed. "Which reminds me, you haven't really told me the details of the mission."

"Oh, yeah..." Toushiro said. "As you already know, someone is trying to shut down the Sommerfield's business."

"And what's worse is that they are targeting Lulu-chan if Ivan-san doesn't do it," Ren reminded, suddenly serious.

"When I first came here two days ago, there was a pretty beat-up guy here. It seems to me you guys 'eliminated' few others before?" Gray asked the twins.

"Yeah. We've been doing this mission for a month now but assassins just came one after the other," said Toushiro.

"It seems that there's no stopping to them and that they're backed by an equally powerful man," Ren added.

"And do you have any leads?" asked Lucy, now in a detective-mode.

"The threats seem to be sent by an anonymous '2L,'

"Our best guess is that this '2L,'" Toushiro raised his index and middle fingers in the air, "is the Sommerfield's greatest business rival, Lesther Langdon, who owns a few diamond mines himself. However, when the Sommerfields got the monopoly, their business started to go down the drain."

"If you're sure about Langdon," Lucy said, "Why don't you take him out?"

"Not enough evidence..." Ren said. "We haven't actually caught any of his messengers sending the threats."

"And sadly, the assassins he sends don't know him either. It seems that Langdon sends them the money and instructions anonymously," Toushiro explained.

"Tsk..." Gray said. "This Langdon guy sure is smart. He left no loose ends at all."

"Does Lulu-chan know anything about the threats?" Lucy asked, suddenly feeling sorry for the girl.

"Yes," Ren said. "But you don't have to worry. She's very intelligent and wise."

"Speaking of which, Ren, it's time for Lulu's morning snack," Toushiro said and taking a tray with food on it.

"Hai, hai, nii-san..."

Ren was about to stand up when Lucy offered, "Can I do it? I want to talk to Lulu..."

"She's not very fond of you, huh?" Gray said smirking.

"Shut up. It just needs a little patience, love and warmth."

Then Lucy took the tray and headed for the dining hall.

* * *

Lucy walked carefully as she carried the tray to Lulu's room. If she was going to protect her, she had to make the kid like her.

"I said 'Go out,' Lulu!" screamed Ivan Sommersault. It echoed from one of the rooms, around the hallway and into Lucy's ears.

Then, a door slammed and out came a disheartened Lulu, running away.

"Lul—" Lucy couldn't finish her statement as Lulu rushed, not seeming to see Lucy as she passed her.

Lucy hurried after the girl, still carrying the lunch tray, and ultimately wound up at the backyard where Lulu sulked and cried, feeding her pet pigeons.

The whole scene looked very familiar to the Stellar Spirit mage that it brought back her own memories of being the heiress of the Heartfilia conglomerate.

With one deep breath, Lucy walked forward to the crying child who seemed to be unaware still of her presence.

"Your snack, Lulu-chan," she said as she placed the tray beside the girl.

Lulu wiped her tears—and the mucus that escaped her nose—and answered, "I don't wanna…"

"What're you so mad at anyway?" said Lucy. She sat beside Lulu and picked up some bird seed from the sack.

"Daddy shouted at me…" she said, trying to sound strong but she ultimately ended up crying again. "He told me to go away."

"Really? 'Cause to me it sounded like he told you to 'Go out.'"

"What difference does that make?!" Lulu said in protest at the older girl.

"He told you to 'go out' of the room but not to 'go away' from him. _There_'s the difference."

"What are you saying?" Lulu said in suspicion. "Are you trying to comfort and suck up to me?"

"You're fast, kid. _Too _fast," Lucy smirked. "I'm trying to comfort you, yeah. But not really trying to _suck up _to you."

"As if you know how I feel…" Lulu snapped.

She threw another handful of bird seed at her pigeons which were now starting to grow in number. Silently, they cooed and this was the only sound that could be heard as Lucy and Lulu said nothing for a while.

It was Lucy who broke the silence. "I _do _know how you feel, actually."

Lulu immediately looked at her in disbelief. "Y-you're lying."

"As if, kid," Lucy said and looked at Lulu. "My whole name is Lucy Heartfilia. My father used to be a wealthy businessman who owned a railway and some other stuff. Anyway, the whole gist of it is that I've been where you are."

Lulu made no reply but kept on looking at Lucy, eyebrows meeting, forehead scrunched and tears still flowing.

"Ah, there was a time on my birthday when I gave my dad a rice ball," Lucy recounted. "That was my _sixth _birthday, I think, and I wanted him to take me to the amusement park. He said he was busy but I bugged him so he told me to 'Get out,'

"I cried a whole lot that day, despite it being my birthday. I ended up celebrating it with some of our workers back at home."

"And your mom?" Lulu finally asked as she wiped the tears on her cheek.

"She's dead."

"Mine as well," Lulu said apologetically. "What did you do afterward?"

"I ran away from home and ended up to my home _away _from home, my guild," Lucy said smiling as if she'd just told the kid a greatest epic of all time.

"And your dad?"

"Our business went down and completely shut because I didn't agree to marry some perverted prince who looked like a tomato. My dad's working at a merchant's guild now and is starting all over. I have contact of him but we don't really meet much."

"I wish _my _dad's business shut down," Lulu said, staring at the ground. "That way he'd have more time for me."

"Hey, don't say that," Lucy said and faced the kid. Lulu glanced up to her in confusion. "Your father is working hard for you, you know."

"No, he's not. He's a bad man who just thinks about money."

"Lulu…"

"I just…" tears fell from the child's face again," …want him to notice me and play with me like all the other kid's dads do."

Not knowing why, Lucy pulled the child into a tight hug and tried to stop her from crying.

"I'll try and go to talk to you dad, okay? Hush, now…"

"You'd do that?" the girl said in between sobs.

"I will… If you stop crying now…" Lucy faced Lulu and looked at her gently with her eyes. "But you have to promise me to be strong."

Lulu nodded and hugged Lucy by the waist.

"She's the daughter of the Heartfilia conglomerate?!" Ren whispered to his brother and Gray who were eavesdropping on the whole thing from behind the door.

"You didn't tell us!" Toushiro added.

"Must've slipped my mind," Gray said coolly.

"She's that rich?! Why's she working at your guild?!"

"Shush it! Didn't you hear her say that their business went bankrupt? She's as broke as all of us are—!"

"Bad news! Bad news!" said a servant who came rushing from behind them.

Lucy, Lulu, Gray and the twins immediately turned to look at him.

"It's bad! It's very bad!" he repeated.

"What is it? What's _bad_?" Toushiro asked and shook the pale servant out of panic.

Ren, seeing a piece of paper on his hand, grabbed it and read.

"Oh, no…" he could only say.

"What's wrong Ren?" Gray asked and Lucy hurried to them, carrying Lulu in her arms.

"Another one of the is going to strike," Ren said. "_Tonight._"

Lucy pulled Lulu closer to her and Gray clenched a fist.

"Time to finish this," he said. "Let's do it."

* * *

Gray was starting to threaten me because I wasn't giving him much lines here.

Anyway, an action-filled chapter coming up!

I hope not to disappoint! -_-


	39. It's Over

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Again, my crappy attempt in writing action… _FAIL!_!

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: IT'S OVER-**_  
"Yes, Lulu. It's over."_

The young girl busied herself in her drawing. She had nothing better, or even more productive, to do anyway. '_Bad people_,' as she called them, were coming after her because of her father's wealth but somehow she had complete confidence that nothing bad would happen.

She looked at the blonde mage who was assigned to guard her. She was in deep thought, while holding the letter the bad people had sent. She had been doing that for the past few minutes now, from plain looking at it to what now seemed to the girl as _smelling_ the letter. Indeed, this onee-chan is more anxious than she was.

Lulu stood up from the floor and approached Lucy.

"Nee-chan," she smiled and handed Lucy some paper and crayons.

"_Huh_?" Lucy was taken aback, of course. She smiled anyway at the girl as she made her sit on her lap. "What's this?"

"Draw with me?" she asked in all sweet innocence.

"But I'm not good at drawing," Lucy sheepishly said looking at the girl's doodles. "But you're really good at it, I see."

"Thank you!" Lulu said.

"Are you scared?"

"Not really."

"You must be very brave, Lulu-chan."

Lulu shook her head in protest. "It's because Ren-nii-san, Shiro-nii-san and Gray-nii-san are very strong. They'll beat the bad people like they always do."

Lucy smiled honestly. Lulu is right. Gray alone was strong and Ren and Toushiro also seemed capable. "I agree."

Lucy looked at the Sommerfield home down below in the heart of the woods. She and Lulu had been separated to make sure the latter was away from harm. And now, there they were, in a log cabin while Toushiro, Ren and Gray stayed behind to fight.

_Be safe, you guys, she thought._

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings could be heard and a messenger pigeon landed in front of Lulu; tied to one of its feet was a small piece of paper.

"_Kitty_!" Lulu squealed excitedly.

"You named your pigeon '_Kitty_'?"

Not seeming to hear Lucy's statement, Lulu grabbed hold of the bird and took the paper on it's foot.

"It's from Gray-nii-san!"

"_Gray_?" Lucy said, her heart thumping. She unconsciously grabbed the paper from the girl's tiny hands and read it.

It said:

_Lucy, Lulu, I hope you're safe. Toushiro says a mages are surrounding the house right now. We didn't think a whole guild would come. Turn off all the lights and keep hidden. Don't come out unless I send another pigeon._

_PS: Lucy, I don't think these mages are too strong but you can't be too careful. Good luck._

_-Gray_

A loud explosion that came from down below them startled Lucy. Out of reflex, she grabbed Lulu, turned off all the candles that were lit, locked all the doors and windows and the two of them snuggled together in the under the fireplace.

"_N-nee-chan..."_ Lulu said gloomily, as if she was going to cry.

"Don't worry, I won't let them get to you. _I promise_."

Lucy tightened her embrace on the shaking girl and took out her keys.

_I believe in you, Gray._

And then, very slowly, the door creaked open.

* * *

_"Crap, they just keep coming!"_ Gray exclaimed as he released a full-force kick on a man's head, thus making him unconscious. The ice mage landed on his feet, panted heavily then shouted, "Who's next?"

"Gray, you're so energetic even though we've been fighting for a while now," Ren complimented. He himself was panting but didn't stop in his attacks to the enemy. Right then, he was head-locking a guy who was already blue in the face.

"Geez, you guys! Concentrate on what we're doing!" Toushiro said, pulling his diamond sword out of a man's body. "We're on a mission here!"

"Nii-san, you're such a work-a-holic. Don't you know—" Ren paused to rapidly hit another mage's nape, "—how to have fun?"

"How can I have fun when there are guys coming at us nonstop like zombies?!" The elder twin eluded an enemy's punch and thrust his sword on his leg and knocked him down. "And we don't even know how Lulu and Lucy are right now!"

"You should have more confidence in Lucy, Shiro-nii-san!"

_BOOM!_

All three of them, and some others, looked up and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising up to the sky from the Sommerfield log cabin.

"That's—" Toushiro exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"_Where Lulu and Lucy are_!" Gray snapped.

Immediately, he came running toward the direction where the explosion came from.

"You're underestimating us!" exclaimed an unknown enemy angrily.

"Get out of my way, bastard!" Gray said as he got in stance for an ice-make attack. "_Ice make Lance_!"

The enemy stood no chance against the mage's powerful attack and immediately collapsed on the spot.

"Gray, don't leave us here!" Toushiro exclaimed angrily.

"I can trust you, can't I?" Gray shouted at his comrades without even looking back.

After a while, he could no longer be seen.

"Nii-san..." Ren said somewhat seriously.

Toushiro turned to face his brother. A very familiar nauseating feeling enveloped the atmosphere around him. "_Ren!_"

"Now that Gray's gone, don't you think it's time to finish this?" Ren let out an evil grin as he walked toward his brother. All those who were against them were surprisingly getting knocked out just by getting in a certain distance from him,

"_K-Kuro Ren_!" the other man stuttered. Although he was used to this deadly personality of Ren's, he still got goosebumps just witnessing it.

"What do you say, nii-san?" Ren said grimly and put a hand on his brother's cheek.

"I agree," Toushiro said, smirking also. "Gray's probably far now so there's no trouble of worrying about hurting him with this technique."

The atmosphere grew heavier it was sickening. All the mages, awake or unconscious, were left awe-struck and fearful.

_"GAAAAAAAAAH!"_

The collective sound of men's screams echoed in the forest, reaching even Gray's ears. What's more is that he could feel the heavy atmosphere from back there giving him goosebumps.

"_Ke_!" he smirked. "As expected from those two. Good thing I ran away before they used their '_Dark Diamond Illusion'_ technique."

Gray now picked up his pace despite the numbing on his legs.

"_Damn it! Damn it! Damn it_!" he repeatedly said.

He hurried even more when he saw the silhouette of the log cabin just ahead of him. It was half destroyed and a heavy curtain of smoke blocked his view of anything else.

"_Lulu! Lucy_!" he screamed.

"Nii-san!" called Lulu's voice. "Over here!"

Following the girl's voice, Gray came upon Lucy holding Lulu closely to her side.

"Lucy! Are you okay?" Gray asked, kneeling in front of the girl.

"Y-yeah..." Lucy assured. "Lulu's fine, too. But... What are you doing here?"

"I was..." he said. _Worried. _That's what he was. But that would be very inappropriate now, wouldn't it. "I came here out of reflex. You seemed like you could use some help."

"No, I don't," Lucy said. "I took care of it. Good thing the guy after us was O' Rosin."

"Darn it, I came here for nothing."

"Nii-san, _watch out!_" Lulu yelped.

Without warning, a beaten-up man whose face was far from recognizable attacked from behind Gray and hit him on the head with a large wooden stick.

"_Nii-san!_"

"Gray!" Lucy stood up, grabbed her whip and hit the man O' Rosin. He fell unconscious to the ground. "You were still awake after Sagittarius, _you jerk?!_" Lucy, then, kicked his unconscious head and tied him up.

_"Lucy-chan! Lulu-chan! Gray!"_ said Ren's voice.

"We're over here!" Lucy said.

Ren, now half-naked, and Toushiro, who was limping and was leaning on his twin for support, came near them with triumphant looks on their faces.

"Everything alright here?" asked Toushiro.

"Not everything..." Lucy said, smiling, pointing at an unconscious Gray whose head was bleeding. "You guys seem to be fine, though."

"Well, we're still alive, see?" joked Ren.

"Nee-chan..." said Lulu as she tugged Lucy's dress. "_Is it over?_"

Touched by this innocence, Lucy knelt down and hugged Lulu.

"Yes, Lulu. It's over."

* * *

Ugly... =_=


	40. So You Would Notice Me

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I was thinking it was kinda healthy for me to fail a test on purpose… -_-

* * *

**-CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: SO YOU WOULD NOTICE ME-**_  
"I just did it so you would notice me!"_

"_O-ouch!_" complained Toushiro as Lucy dressed the wound on his legs with a disinfectant. "That hurts, woman!"

"Stop complaining! And you call yourself a man!" Lucy snapped back then hit his already-injured leg.

"Yeow! Stop that, will you?!"

"Sissy," Lucy teased as she put more pressure on his leg.

"Oh, dear," Ren said, his torso wrapped in bandages.

"There, we're done," Lucy said. She stood up and approached Gray, who was apparently her next patient. "_Gray?_"

No answer. Instead, Gray looked away.

"Still not talking, huh?" Lucy said gently. Unfortunately, it hurt Gray's pride that Lucy beat up the guy after he was hit on the head. "You're not seriously mad about that, _are you?_"

Without warning, Lucy forced Gray's head to face her and started putting dressing on it.

"You've saved me more than once already. At least think of that as a payment," she smiled as she gently wrapped his forehead with bandage.

Ever so shyly, Gray looked at her, eyebrows meeting together. Lucy caught him staring at her and tightened the bandage wrapped around it.

"_Yeow!_" he yelped.

"You idiot! You abandoned your comrades to give aide to an able mage! Do you plan to insult me?!" Lucy said strictly.

"I wasn't trying to—" Gray tried to fight back.

"But thanks, Gray," she said softly.

"You two seem to be getting very close!" Ren commented, hands on his cheek, blushing. "_I'm so jealous!_"

"Ren-san, you're really childish..." said Lucy, turning to Gray's other wounds now.

"Am I really?" asked Ren, elated.

Quietly, the door slid open and a servant girl of the Sommerfield house came in respectfully in their small room.

"The man you brought is now awake," she said. "But he's tied up with magic-nullifying ropes, as you ordered."

"Thank you, Chihae," said Ren. "We'll be right there."

* * *

The man weakly opened his eyes. Apparently, he was now in a bright room, tied to a chair. He tried to move his neck. It hurt. He tried to use his magic. It was useless.

"Hey."

A very beautiful blonde youth with blue slit-like eyes appeared in from of him. She was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono and on his hand, he had a wooden sword.

"So you've finally come to," she said in a deep voice.

"W-wait! You're a man!" he exclaimed.

"Would you rather I be a woman?!" Ren said and pointed the wooden sword at him threateningly.

"That's enough, Ren. He won't be able to fight back anyway," Lucy stopped Ren from harassing the man any more.

Then she turned to him and said, "I'd have taken you to my clients and get my reward already but there's something I want to know first, Walden O' Rosin."

"And you'd probably consider telling the truth, too," added Toushiro, unsheathing his diamond sword.

"_Who sent you?_" said Lucy as darkly as she could.

The man didn't speak.

"You were tasked to assassinate an innocent girl. I want to know what kind of ruthless man would do such a thing," she explained.

The man laughed sinisterly. "You don't scare me, little missy. My wife is more threatening than you are."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "_Really, now?_"

Immediately, Lucy took Toushiro's sword and swung it to O' Rosin's direction. She stopped halfway, though, close to his neck; so close his neck was cut slightly, just enough to make him bleed.

"I repeat: _who sent you?_"

"L-lucy-chan is a bit scary, don't you think?" Ren whispered at an awe-struck Gray.

"A-aye!"

"O-oi, Lucy! Don't get so worked up about this!" commented Toushiro, half-amazed and yet half-anxious.

"Need I repeat myself or—?"

"_Langdon! _A guy named Langdon sent me!" he immediately answered.

"As we suspected," Toushiro said, drawing his sword from Lucy's hand then raising it above his head threatening O' Rosin some more. "_Where is he now?_"

* * *

"Cr—!" said Gray, holding his head as he ran. Lucy was ahead of him while Ren and Toushiro limped after them.

Apparently, while they were busy interrogating O' Rosin, Langdon had already made his way to Ivan Sommerfield.

"Hurry up, will you?!" Lucy said angrily.

"Hey, we're injured here!" Gray snapped back. "Where are we going anyway?"

"If I'm right, Langdon would go to the place where Mr. Sommerfield's business documents are."

Lucy stopped upon reaching the door of the library and kicked it open.

"Mr. Sommerfield!"

"Nee-chan!" Lulu screamed from behind her father. "_Help!_"

"Stop it, Lesther!" her father pleaded to the lanky man in front of him.

"Langdon..." Lucy could only say.

"_Tsk!_" The man said and grabbed Lulu, so swiftly, from behind her father and pointed a small knife at her neck.

"Lulu!"

Gripped with fear, the poor girl could not speak but could only cry as she tried to hold back her voice.

"Don't c-come near o-or I'll slit her throat open!" he threatened. The man seemed to have lost his rationality and, judging from his gritty appearance, he was about to lose his mind as well.

"Lesther! Stop this nonsense immediately! You are just ruining your reputation!"

"_I'm already ruined, thanks to you!_" he snapped back. "My wife, my business! All gone because of you! And now—"

"Well, this is overwhelmingly fantastic, is it not?" said Ren from behind. He was clutching his sides as he took off the top portion of his kimono. "Sob stories do make me cry."

"Ren-san..." For some reason, goosebumps were starting to grow on the Stellar Spirit mage's arms and her legs became as stiff as wood. She felt very heavy, as if she was about to vomit.

"This is—" Gray asked.

"_Kuro Ren_," said Toushiro calmly. "I… I guess this guy's gonna be over with."

"However," Ren said staring at Langdon with an evil look on his eyes, "I'm not so interested in yours."

"Stay back! I'm not joking!" Langdon asserted and he pushed the knife even closer to Lulu's throat.

"_R-Ren-nii-san!_"

"Pathetic..."

"Aaah!" Langdon screamed abruptly then dropped the knife. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"_Lulu!"_ Lucy said and Lulu broke free from the man's grasp.

"_Nee-chan!_" she said and embraced Lucy.

"_Gaaah!_" he yelped again. Langdon fell to the floor wincing in pain, as if he was being tortured.

"Yes, that's right… _Fall to your knees_," Ren ordered grimly.

"Wha-what's happening?!" Lucy asked.

"This is Kuro Ren's Selective Illusion," Toushiro said. "And I guess this is also it for the Langdon guy."

"K-kuro Ren…?" Lucy said fearfully. The bubbly Ren had completely ceased to exist!

"_AAAAAAH!"_

With one final yell, Langdon fell unconscious to the ground.

"Ah—" Ren lost his strength and collapsed and Toushiro caught him just in time.

"Using your Illusion twice in one day. You're really asking for an early death," he said.

"S-sorry, nii-san..." Ren said smiling.

Lucy ran to Langdon's unconscious body and searched it.

"Here it is!" Lucy said, taking out a piece of paper and read it. "Another threat he was about to send."

"Good job, Lucy!" Gray exclaimed.

"Thank you so much!" Ivan Sommerfield exclaimed in the middle of the commotion. "I don't know how to thank you for flying in here!"

"_Fly?_" Lucy said.

"That's what you requested for, right?" Gray said, now carrying a bewildered Lulu in his arms. "We were only doing our jobs."

"Lucy?" Toushiro asked the blonde mage who seem to be frantically looking for something.

Lucy put a hand in her pocket and took out a piece of paper.

"What—?" Gray exclaimed.

"Ah!" Lucy said after she smelled the paper. "I got it!"

"Got what?" Gray asked.

"The culprit," Lucy said, with a soft smile on her face.

"Obviously. We've got Langdon here and O' Rosin back at the stock room."

"No! That's not what I meant!" she explained. "Langdon sent O' Rosin all right, but all the others weren't his doing."

"_What?!"_ Toushiro, Gray and Ren gasped.

"If he wanted to send this threat, he could've just sent it the way the real culprit does but instead, he chose to send it himself," she started. "Apparently, he'd lost all he had and didn't have enough money to get a messenger since he'd already paid O' Rosin.

"What's more is this letter," she continued, raising and showing to them Langdon's threat. "It's different from the other threats, particularly the one we received earlier today. This one is signed anonymously signed while the ones we have were signed '_2L_'.

"The kind of paper is also different. It smells different from this one," she raised the other threat letter. "I thought this paper smelled familiar the moment I got it. It smelled of old books and ink. The same smell as the environment _here_.

"And the final piece of the puzzle was flying," she said.

"Flying?" Gray asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I wondered how the letters got to and fro without being noticed. When Ivan-san mentioned _'fly'_ I immediately thought of messenger pigeons!"

"Are you implying that _I_ wrote those threats?!" Mr. Sommerfield asked aggressively.

"Of course not, sir," Lucy said. "Pigeons are extremely loyal creatures. They are very friendly to those who befriend them. And I don't think a very busy man like you could even come and feed your pigeons, right?"

"Wait a minute—!" Toushiro exclaimed, as if he had also figured out something.

"But these pigeons are very well taken care of by someone in this house, apparently," Lucy turned from Ivan Sommerfield to Gray. "It was genius of you to think up of this but I think it's game over now, 2L: _Lulu Sommerfield_."

"What?!" Ren, Gray and Mr. Sommerfield all exclaimed.

"_Lulu..._" her father said.

"Papa..."

"Lulu, tell me the truth... Is it really you?" he asked.

"I… It's because you never have time for me!" she yelped in between sobs. "Papa is always at work and almost never home!"

"Lulu-chan..." Gray said sympathetically.

"You even forgot my birthday!" she cried. "Papa wouldn't notice me even if I tried so I thought... I thought you'd finally stay home if I was in danger!"

"_Lulu!_" her father called out and embraced her like never before.

"I'm sorry, papa! I didn't mean it! I just liked it when you're always around. I don't want you to be mad, Papa. I just want you to be with me. I just did it so you would notice me!"

"I'm sorry, too, Lulu," he replied. "This is all Papa's fault but now, I'm going to make it right, okay?"

"P-promise?"

"Promise... Oh, Lulu, I'm so sorry!"

"_Woah..._ You're really good at this, aren't you?" Gray whispered to Lucy as they watched the melodrama of the Sommerfields making up.

"_Hic!_"

Gray glanced her. She, too, was crying a river.

"H-hey!"

"I'm sorry! I just can't help it!" she wiped her tears with her arms but failed because they just kept coming out. "It's just so happy."

"You've been there, huh?" Gray asked gently.

"Yeah... Too bad my story didn't end as well as this one," Lucy said in between sobs. "But at least I helped Lulu make hers better than mine."

"You did a splendid job, Luce," Gray said, ruffling her hair. "I'm really proud of you."

Lucy bit her lower lip and looked at Gray, her eyes glistening with tears.

"H-hey..." he said.

Lucy only pulled herself closer to him and wailed on his chest. "D-don't cry like that, you'll tear off my shirt!"

"But you barely wear clothes!" she snapped back in tears.

Gray laughed. "But I'm really proud of you, Lucy. I really am."

* * *

i just feel like i really _suck...  
_TT^TT


	41. One Stormy Afternoon

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **_Ugh! _Finally, we get some romance in here! Enjoy, minna! I hope not to disappoint!

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY: ONE STORMY AFTERNOON-**_  
"I'll tell you something important..."_

"_Phew!_" Gray exclaimed. He put Lucy's bags on the floor and took off his wet shoes. "Who knew a storm was coming to Magnolia?"

"I know. Thanks for taking me home, Gray—again," Lucy commented and took her own wet boots off. "Come in... Do you want to have some coffee?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," said Gray.

It was late in the afternoon and dark, angry storm clouds were raining all over Magnolia. The two had just arrived from their last mission and, tired from the trip and welcomed by a thunderstorm, they were keeping warm in Lucy's home.

"It's so sad Toushiro-san and Ren-san didn't want to join Fairy Tail," Lucy said suddenly. She was now stirring the coffee in the cup.

"I don't blame them, though," Gray said, putting away his and Lucy's muddy shoes away. Then, he made himself at home and sat comfortably on the couch. "Kuro Ren is still a bit troublesome."

"I see..." Lucy now made her way toward Gray, carrying a tray with two coffee cups and some biscuits. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Luce," Gray said, taking the coffee cup and blowing on it before finally taking a sip.

Lucy looked at the raven-haired mage in silence.

"_Pfft..._" Lucy choked on her drink.

"What's so funny?" Gray asked, munching on a biscuit.

"You fainted because of some blow on the head..." she teased.

"_S-shut up..._" he said, ears red.

"_That's so cute, Gray!_" Lucy said. "Your ears!"

"Whatever..." he said, covering them.

"_Lemme touch!_"

Lucy immediately jumped from one end of the table to Gray's end and forced the ice mage's hand away from his ears as Lucy pulled them upward.

_"YEEEEOOOOW!"_

Lucy was immediately thrown to the floor as Gray forcefully stood up with beet red ears and cheeks. However, instead of being hurt, the Stellar Spirit mage rolled on the floor laughing her eyes out.

"You're becoming more and more like Elise... In a bad way…" Gray said, annoyed. He went back to his seat and back to drinking his coffee.

Beside him, Lucy sat on the floor, near his leg and looked up.

"Are you mad?" Lucy tugged Gray's pants with one hand and wiped the tears that escaped her eye with the other.

"You sick _sadist_," he said.

Lucy gulped. Could Gray _really_ be mad?

"Gray?" Gray shook Lucy's hand away from his foot. "Gray, I'm sorry..."

The thunder clapped loudly and Lucy flinched. For all she knew, Juvia was watching them and was being jealous.

Lucy bit her lower lip and slowly stood up. She could feel Gray emitting a 'pissed-off' aura around her. Not even daring to look, she turned around to go back to her seat.

"_Pffft..._"

Lucy turned to the only person who could have made the sound.

Much to her embarrassment, it was now Gray's turn to hold in laughter.

"Hahahaha!" Gray finally burst out laughing. "Your face was just _priceless_."

"_Jerk!_" Lucy stomped her foot in protest.

"Hey, _you_ were the one who started it," he replied and stood up to face Lucy.

Lucy puffed up her cheeks and Gray pinched her nose.

"Ow..."

"That's cute," he joked. "You look like a blonde blowfish..."

Lucy immediately reached for Gray's sensitive ears but it was too slow for the ice mage and he grabbed her hand pulled her up so that their faces were close together.

"Are you _sure_ you want to do that?" he smirked.

Lucy blushed. His bad-boy look was very handsome, after all. Lucy just admitted it then that Gray was really attractive.

"See something you like?"

Lucy looked away in sheer embarrassment while Gray was smiling confidently from ear-to-ear.

"Y-you're crazy, G-Gray..."

Musing to himself, Gray looked out the window, at the rain.

"I think I'd better go," he started. "The rain's lighter now."

Lucy stared at the window when thunder clapped again.

"The rain got heavier! I think you should stay."

"Naah... I'd better go... I've some chores to do..."

"But the rain..." she insisted. Something inside Lucy was screaming '_Don't go just yet, I beg of you!'_

"—Won't be able to stop me..."

"Oh... Right... Okay, then..." Lucy grabbed Gray's bags and gave it to the ice mage.

Why should she even insist? Gray was as stubborn as she was, maybe even more so. There was no point in arguing with him.

"S-so I'll see you, then?" Lucy fidgeted and bit her lower lip.

"Yeah, I guess..."

Gray pinched her nose one last time before finally opening the door.

"I'll tell you something important tomorrow. Make sure you see me," he said then ran off in the night.

"_S-something_?" Lucy whispered.

For some reason, as if by instinct, she knew what it was about.

* * *

i wrote a short chapter... I'm so sorry! But I hope you still enjoyed the randomness of the romance they have together.. Just a few more chapters... What do you say, minna? :)

I love you all from the bottom of my HYPOTHALAMUS!


	42. THE NEXT DAY

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **How many chapters should I still do? Am I _**really **_making too long for you guys? _Gomenasai! _But please enjoy this ****long** **chapter!

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: THE NEXT DAY-**_  
"Fine then! You'd better come back in two months!"_

Lucy couldn't sleep after all. How could she? She knew perfectly that what Gray wanted to say was something about her, him and the word '_like_'.

In the end, our blonde mage ended up waking every now and the in the dead of the night thinking about the next day.

What should she do? How should she react? Was she even ready in the first place?

Lucy thought back to the first time Gray had confessed. It was so confident of him to actually say that to her as he smirked, the moonlight reflecting on his god-like face.

Would today be any different? Should she just dump him?

So many questions needed to be answered and Lucy's brain was just malfunctioning because of lack of sleep.

"_Okay_..." she sighed, dragging her body lazily off the bed.

In the first place, _are the feelings mutual_? Does she like him, too?

Lucy started to fill the bathtub with warm water. It's true that Gray had been really kind to her all the time and she was very fond of him. Does that mean she likes him as a man and not just as a special friend?

The confused blonde unconsciously pursed her lips and then clicked them, taking her back to the night at the Hall of Mirrors where she and Gray... She dared not continue her thoughts. She flushed deep red just having it in her subconscious.

She touched her lips as her heart drummed in her chest.

Okay, let's say for example that she _does_ like him. Should he ask her to be his girlfriend, should she say yes? Or should they just be in an open relationship and "_get to know each other_"?

Taking off her clothes, the girl dipped into the bathtub and stared blankly in space.

She sighed.

Maybe she should just let her spontaneity work this out for her.

In the meantime, she had to take time to physically prepare herself.

* * *

And she did.

In fact, to say that she "_took her time_" was an understatement.

She had taken half the day just bathing and choosing the right clothes, shoes and hairstyle. She even forgot to eat breakfast!

In the end, she gave up and just grabbed a white fitting top, her tattered shorts and her boots.

She walked nervously to the guild, as if Gray would jump in on her anytime.

Peeking through the frame of the entrance, Lucy looked for any sign of the raven-haired ice mage.

No sign of him. _Good_.

Then, a crowd of strangers looking around the guild caught Lucy's eyes. They were all a bunch of people unfamiliar to Lucy. They looked curiously at the walls, and some seemed to actually be asking the members of the guild.

"Lucy! Over here!" a voice called out.

Lucy glanced ahead and saw a familiar silver-haired woman calling to her from the counter.

"Mira-san! How are you?"

"I'm fine... You?"

Lucy could only shrug at this question. "How's Lisanna?"

"She's doing a lot of resting at home. The baby's about five months now so it's starting to do interesting stuff."

"_Awwe_," she cooed. "I'll have to visit her sooner."

"I'd really like that, Lucy-chan..." Mira's eyes twinkled in admiration. "Oh, by the way, would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Hm? Yeah, sure."

"You see, Gray was here this morning, talking with Erza and Natsu," Mira started.

"Yeah, then?"

"He didn't look too well to me, though. He looked feverish and he kept coughing up."

_That's to be expected if he ran all the way from my house to his_, Lucy thought.

"I wanted to cook something for him but..."

"But?" Lucy looked as Mira bit her lower lip and looked at all the new faces around.

"There are a lot of tourists here right now."

"That, I can see. Do they think our guild is some sort of tourist spot?" Lucy asked, hands on her waist.

"But it was actually master's idea to give the guild a boost on the finances," Mira explained then continued. "Anyway, I wanted to cook something for him but I can't go out because I've to entertain all these people."

"And...?" Somehow, Lucy knew what Mirajane was asking of her.

"Can you go and check up on Gray for me? And if you can, cook for him, too? I'll give you a recipe."

"Okay," Lucy agreed. "I have to see him anyway..."

"Ara... You two have been really close lately..."

"S-stop it, Mira-san..." Lucy said turning her back so Mira won't see her flushing.

"You're so cute, Lucy-chan..." Mira turned her back and was about to go to the storeroom. "Anyway, I'll go get some things you'll need to bring.

* * *

"_Gray?_" Lucy knocked on the door again. For some reason, as if no one was around, Gray had been unresponsive to the loud knocks she had been doing on the door. Lucy had been standing there in front of Gray's house and knocking for about thirty minutes already but nobody was opening the door at all.

Confused and a bit irritated, Lucy decided to look through the window of Gray's room, just to see if he was around. Alas, it was covered with a thick, dark curtain that blocked off the light from outside.

Still a bit hopeful, Lucy tried to peek in through the gaps of the curtain. Inside, Lucy could see someone curled up under the thick sheets of the bed, one foot sticking out.

"Gray," she deduced. "Okay, I just hope your back door is open."

Lucy took the basket Mira had given her and moved to the back door, which led to the kitchen.

Fortunately enough, it was open and the Stellar Spirit mage freely let herself in.

Putting the heavy basket on the counter and locking the door, she made her way to Gray's room.

"_Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty_!" she teased, opening the curtains to let some sunlight in. It was already around two then. "Gray, you've got to wake up!"

Lucy shook Gray, whole body except one foot, covered under the thick sheets. The ice mage simply grunted, shrugged her off and turned.

"What the—" Lucy put her hands on her waist.

_What a stubborn guy. _She grabbed the sheets and dragged it off of the ice mage.

"Gray, _wakey-wakey_!" she said, triumphantly holding the sheets away from Gray.

Lazily, Gray sat up, eyes half-closed.

"Luc—" he coughed, "—Lucy?"

Lucy gulped. This Gray seemed very vulnerable. The tone of his voice was soft and mild, his half-closed eyes were imploring and his ears were a slight shade of red. Moreover, his topless body was shivering as he huffed, trying to breathe.

"Gray?" Lucy asked, immediately placing her hand on his forehead. "_You really are sick_!"

"Y-yeah... That's obvious..." Gray gestured for the covers Lucy was holding. "_I'm c-cold_."

"Here." Lucy wrapped it around the ice mage. "Stay in bed, I'll go make something for you."

"You can cook now?" he teased weakly.

"Now's not the time for jokes, silly," she reprimanded lovingly. "Mira-san asked me to do so and even gave me a recipe."

Gray smiled as Lucy went out of the room and into the kitchen.

However, instead of lying down, he forced himself up, wobbled a little and, sheets still covering him, followed the blonde to the kitchen, coughing.

"_Hey_! I told you to stay in bed!" Lucy said then went to his side to aid the sick mage.

"No, I'm okay. I want to make sure you cook it right."

"Geez, you need to trust me more," Lucy said then she led him to the dining table to sit. "Here."

"So you really came to see me, huh?" he said smiling to himself.

The flushing Lucy plainly turned around and started washing the ingredients for his soup.

"Y-yeah..." she said. "And that rain really took a toll on you."

"It was unexpected. I usually don't get sick of some rain."

"And you call yourself an ice mage," she said.

A long and awkward silence followed the Stellar Spirit's statement. Except from the gentle bubbling of the soup and Gray's constant coughing, the whole kitchen was silent.

"So, um..." Lucy started after a while, "You, Erza and Natsu met up this morning?"

"Ah—" Gray stopped his reply to cough, "Yeah..."

"What for?" Lucy absentmindedly looked at the recipe and put two pinches of salt in the pot. "A job?"

Gray coughed as he nodded in reply.

"You guys are leaving me behind?"

"Natsu asked if you could keep Lisanna company and Erza agreed so yeah..."

Gray coughed once more and Lucy prepared the table for him.

"Are you sure it's not because I'm not strong enough?" she joked, taking a whole loaf of bread from the basket and putting it at the center of the table.

Gray coughed before replying, "Of course not, idiot. We're well aware of your capabilities."

"I see," Lucy said, then put a big bowl of soup in front of the sick ice mage. "_Itadakimasu_!"

"Thanks..." He coughed once more and then started to eat.

"So what kind of job is it?"

"An S-class mission..." Gray cleared his throat before he continued. "A demon-extermination mission."

"Eh—?" Lucy exclaimed, goosebumps all over her body. "D-demon?"

"That's also why you shouldn't come... It's dangerous and—"

"We've been to a lot of danger before, right?"

"—and it's an indefinite request..."

"_Indefinite_?" she asked.

The ice mage swallowed the viscous liquid in his mouth and cleared his throat.

"That means we'll be doing the quest for a month or so..."

"A month or so...?" Lucy repeated. "That means—"

"We don't know when we'll be back..."

The Stellar Spirit mage swallowed. "When will you be leaving?"

"Early tomorrow morning."

"Can you travel like that?" she said, pointing out the fact that he was sick.

"I'll be fine by tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"You worried about me?"

Gray locked gazes with the girl sitting beside him with his lips split into a smile. This caught Lucy off-guard and she immediately pulled herself back causing her to slip and fall. She pulled the closest thing she could've, Gray's blanket that was draped all over him, for support. Unfortunately, it simply slid off the ice mage's body and Lucy fell back-first on the floor.

"_Oi_!" Gray exclaimed. "You okay?"

Although still a bit woozy and cold, Gray mustered all the strength he had and kneeled down to check if his companion was okay.

"Indefinite...?" Lucy mumbled under the sheet that covered her body from head down.

"Get up, Luce," he ordered gently and pulled the covers away from Lucy, revealing her with tears flowing from her eyes. "_O-oi_!"

Lucy picked herself up and sat on the floor as she wiped the tears that unconsciously escaped her eyes.

"Hey, get up from the floor..." he reprimanded.

"How long do you think it'll take you to get back?" she asked.

Gray thought for a while then answered, "About two months..."

"That long...?" she said, her eyes glistening with tears of loneliness.

Gray flushed and tried to make her feel any better. "B-But that's already the longest. If it isn't too hard, we'd probably be back in about a few weeks."

"What part of _'S-Class'_ do you think is not _'too hard'_?!" she fought back, chocolate orbs that implored staring straight through Gray's dark ones.

The man smiled gently, "Why are you so against it?"

"Because... It's an S-Class!"

"You said I should trust you more, right?" Gray started. "Then you should trust me more, too..."

"But—"

"You're crying over nothing... You're not the hard-headed Lucy I know..." Gray pinched her nose gently. "_Gotcha_..."

"Huh?" Lucy asked, wiping her face.

"I gotcha liking me..."

The statement made Lucy flush deep red. Her companion's bold statement seemed to have stopped her brain from functioning.

"In two months' time, I promise to be back..." he declared, then stood up and went back to his seat, "By then, I'll make you admit it straight to my face."

Unconsciously, Lucy stood up and hit Gray on the head.

"Hey!" he complained. "I'm sick here!"

"Make me admit it, huh?!" Lucy said loudly, her face flushing and eyes wet with tears. "Fine then! You'd better come back in two months!"

"O-oi—!"

Without even saying goodbye, Lucy ran and slammed the door behind her, leaving Gray all by himself.

_Two months, huh?_ She mused with uncertainity then left.

* * *

Lucy is just so proud… Admit it already! Who makes up this story anyway—oh… it's me… -_-

Did you enjoy it?

Drop me a review and tell me what you think!


	43. Okaeri

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Somehow… I'm writing very long chapters… GAH! Is this _stress_?! **I think it is!**

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: OKAERI (WELCOME BACK)-**_  
"Okaeri, Gray..."_

Lucy Heartfilia wiped the sweat that was about to stream down her forehead and stood up straight with a proud smile. Very carefully, she tightened the band that held her hair together and put her hands on her small waist.

She looked around the room to see if everything was indeed spotless.

_Yup, it all is_, she mused.

The victorious smile on her face then dropped into a small, longing one. She had done it again, after all.

After Gray, Erza and Natsu left, she had tried to busy herself by doing jobs either alone or with other teams. The most peculiar one was the job she'd taken with Gajeel and Juvia, which involved blood, explosion, scary glances (mostly from Juvia) and meeting old members of Phantom who had a change of heart.

Although it took some of the loneliness for a while, the Stellar Spirit mage found herself at the start after the jobs had been over with.

Yes, she had been so lonely. With no Erza, Natsu, Happy or Gray around to pester her and put her life in great peril, she had lived every single day with but the maximum boredom.

Ultimately, she would spend most of her time at the guild, either helping Mira or visiting Lisanna who, despite the growing child in her belly, seemed to be more energetic than ever. In fact, Lisanna could walk and help out with the cleaning, much to Mira's dismay and would end up very tired and even experiencing pains. This wasn't very surprising, though, considering the fact that the baby was almost nine months now.

She sighed. Time does indeed fly by very quickly. _And so does dirt_.

She knew everything had been cleaned three days ago. But when she arrived early that morning for some reason she didn't know, it was dusty again and the cobwebs were hanging down the fireplace like it was theirs.

She had been cleaning Gray's house for the past three or so weeks and yet the dirt it seemed to accumulate was just unbelievable.

"It's all his fault..." Lucy muttered under her breath, her arms shaking.

Then she kicked the sturdy mahogany table in front of her with all her might, only to injure her foot in the process.

"If only they'd returned in time, I wouldn't have to do this!" she hissed at an imaginary listener in the dark living room.

It had been almost four months since Gray, Erza and Natsu had left for the S-Class mission. The time limit of two months she and Gray had agreed upon was long over with a _month-and-a-few-week_ extension. Lucy had been eagerly waiting everyday for their safe return… but there was none.

She felt _extremely_ betrayed.

Even so, Lucy would stand by at the guild, earnestly on the look out.

"Oh, crap!" she exclaimed, looking at the weather outside. It had already started to snow.

The day before, Cana had said something about the snow that was about to come. So, with one huff of content at her handiwork, Lucy slid in her thick winter wear and boots, took one long look at the house, then locked the door behind her as she made her way to the guild.

_Snow, huh_? Lucy thought. She heaved a defeated sigh once more and hastened her pace.

She had been waiting for around four months. Everyday she'd been renewing faith. Hopefully, today would be different.

_But let's not get our hopes up_, she thought.

* * *

"But Mira-nee!" Lisanna complained as her sister pushed her gently on the couch. "I want to help in the bar!"

"_Definitely not_!" Mira said firmly, waving a finger at Lisanna. "I will not allow you to stay in such a place where there are_ drunks_ and _smokers _and _bad mouthers_!"

"B-but, what am I supposed to do?!" Lisanna argued. "It's so boring here!"

"Lucy-chan will keep you company; won't you, Lucy?"

The silver-haired maiden turned around to gaze at Lucy who was smiling as they lovingly quarrelled. Without hesitation, Lucy nodded.

"_See?_"

"Well, if Lucy-chan's staying then I guess it's not going to be so boring," Lisanna smiled.

"I'll be leaving then," Mira asked as she opened the door that led to the main hall of the guild. "Keep warm, okay?"

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Lucy asked. She jumped of the high stool she sat in to sit beside Lisanna on the couch. The latter had been kept in that room so to rest away from the noise of the guild.

"_Ah, that's right_!" Lisanna squealed excitedly. "I forgot to tell you an exciting development!"

"Really?" Lucy asked, stars in her eyes.

"Come!" Lisanna said, open arms. Lucy obliged.

The pregnant woman put Lucy's hand on her bulging belly.

"Don't tell me—"

"_Ssh_!" Lisanna said and both of them waited.

For a short while, nothing had happened. But the two didn't show any signs of wavering. Then, in the midst of their excitement, a small force from inside Lisanna's stomach hit their palms, making the two stare wide-eyed at each other.

"_Uwaaah_!" Lucy squealed, so did Lisanna. It wasn't much of a matter to the innocent onlooker, but for the two it was like winning gold at a tournament.

"_That's so amazing_!" Lucy praised. "For a baby, it packs quite a punch, don't you think?"

"I guess she takes after her father..." Lisanna mentioned, blushing.

"_Her_?"

"W-well, I'm not really sure yet but I was just hoping for a girl..." she replied, blushing.

"I c-can't imagine..." Lucy said, sweatdropping at the thought if a baby girl with salmon pink hair, breathing fire and destroying a city like some sort of monster.

She shuddered.

"Elf-nii had the same reaction, you know?" Lisanna said, giggling.

"He helps take care of you...?" Lucy muttered. Lisanna only smiled.

"He does… It's like he's more excited of the baby that I am!"

"I guess we can say that for all of the guys here in Fairy Tail, huh?" Lucy said. Lisanna fell silent as she stared at her stomach.

"I'm so nervous, Lucy..."

"Why?" she replied, concern in her voice.

"The baby should be coming soon and... I don't know if I'll be able to—"

Lucy managed to stop Lisanna in the middle of her statement with just one gentle look.

"You can do it..." she said.

"Huh?"

"After all that we've been through I'm sure you can do it."

"_Lucy-chan..._" Lisanna said.

"Besides, you don't really think that we'll let you keep the baby to yourself, right? She'll be taking turns sleeping at our houses when she's at the right age."

"Lucy-chan, you're too mean!" Lisanna joked and hugged her companion.

"We're like family here, right?" Lucy said. "Whatever makes you happy, makes us happy, too..."

"_Happy...!_" Lisanna exclaimed.

"Yeah, happy..."

"_Aye!_" said a small voice from behind.

Upon hearing the voice, Lucy's heart stopped.

_Could it be?_

"_Lisanna..._" said a new comer.

Lucy immediately looked behind her with all the faith she's had for the past four months.

There, standing behind her, was Natsu, carrying a large backpack with a sleeping bag rolled up at the top. His scarf was wrapped around his neck like usual and his vest was a tattered mess. He had bandages on his head and one of his legs was in a cast. From the looks of it, he had been pretty beat up.

But the spark in his eyes as he stared at the silver-haired woman was very passionate; _as if he was not in pain at all_.

It was a look of longing… a very loving look.

"Lisanna," he repeated, hesitating if he should walk to her or not.

"_Natsu_!" Lisanna exclaimed, equally longing for the man. She immediately jumped into his arms and cried.

"Hey, you've been doing well, huh?" he said gently. "Sorry for being late..."

"It's fine..." Lisanna said. "As long as you're here, it's fine..."

"_Whoa—_!" Natsu pulled away from their embrace when he felt something bump his stomach. "Something just—!"

"_Ara..._ You're welcoming Papa, already?" said Lisanna, as if the baby in her stomach could hear.

"That's—!" Natsu said, looking at Lisanna's stomach at an utter loss for words.

"_Okaeri..._" Lisanna said gently, her hands on her tummy.

Natsu pulled her close once more.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at this reunion. Somehow, she wasn't feeling anything negative inside her, which was _good_; in fact she felt warm and very happy for them.

And she was smiling as a witness of their love from the bottom of her heart.

"Lucy is smiling weirdly..." Happy teased from the sidelines.

"Shut up, _stray cat_!" she said then pulled Happy into a playful head lock.

"_Uwah_! Lucy is being mean to me!" Happy complained, his blue fur rubbing off on Lucy's delicate arm.

"Luce..." Natsu said, as if it was the first time he'd seen her.

"Hey…" she said, still not letting go of Happy.

"It's good to see you're doing good…" he smiled.

"Likewise…" Lucy smiled back. "Well, I guess I should leave you two alone to catch up..."

She walked out of the room into the hallway. For some reason, the walking turned to unexplainably nervous running.

At the end of the hallway, where the bar is, came a very loud noise of chattering and shouting.

Lucy hastened her pace.

"_Lucy!_" screamed Erza. She, too, was injured but much less grave than Natsu. There were patches on her face and bandages on her arms. However, the perfectly beautiful scarlet hair was kept intact and flowed down to her waist.

"Erza!" she smiled and greeted the other mage. "Welcome back!"

"It's good to be back..." Erza said.

Lucy looked around for any sign of a certain raven-haired mage. She pursed her lips when she found him nowhere inside the guild.

"Lucy?" asked Erza. "You seem frantic."

"I-Is Gray around?" she asked softly.

"Come to think of it… I haven't seen him since we arrived at the station," Erza replied, also looking around. "I think he went home ahead of us."

"I... see..." Lucy said, disappointed.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no, nothing!"

"You _liiiiiike_ him!" teased Happy, making Erza blush.

"Shut up, cat!" threatened Lucy and threw Happy away.

Erza was still blushing and the rest of the guild was muttering something about a 'welcome party' when Lucy noticed herself wearing her coat and walking silently out of the guild.

"Will she be okay?" asked Lisanna, who was watching the whole time.

Natsu stared as Lucy made her way out.

He smiled.

"Don't worry," he said. "It's all good."

* * *

_It seems he forgot_, Lucy thought. So all of the waiting had been for nothing.

She stopped in her tracks as she watched the snow fall gently on the ground.

She flushed.

"Why should I care anyway?!" she scolded herself. Then she stomped angrily back to her house.

Gray's words from four months back came rushing in Lucy's mind as if it only happened yesterday.

"In two months' time... I'll make you admit it straight to my face..."

Upon remembering this, Lucy unknowingly hastened her pace and in a short matter if minutes, she had reached the warmth of her home.

She sighed as she took of her coat and boots in the dark.

Looking around, she bit her lip.

What was she expecting anyway? That Gray would come up and say, "Welcome home" or something?

Without even bothering to turn on the lights (she'd be turning them off again anyway so what was the deal?), she walked lazily in much gloom to her bed.

"_Really... You're ruining my plans..._"

Mortified, Lucy stopped.

_Who was that just now? Wait, do I even have to ask?_

"You should've at least turned on the lights, you know?" he said from behind.

Lucy only smiled bitterly. "Two months, huh?"

"_Uh, yeah..._ About that..." Gray said, sweatdropping. He hadn't kept his end of the bargain, after all. Lucy had all the right to be mad. "We got sidetracked and—"

"_You selfish, lying bastard_!" Words shot right out of Lucy's mouth as she turned to the ice mage. "You could have at least written a letter!"

"_Woah_! What's with the sudden grumpiness?" asked Gray. "I came back alive, didn't I?"

"You don't know—" Lucy was now struggling to talk as her tears overtook her tongue, "—how I've... You just don't..."

Lucy bit her lip to stop it from quivering. _What was happening_? This wasn't the reunion she had in mind.

She was supposed to throw a fit and say, _'How dare you face me again after breaking a promise?'_ with a matching evil aura. She had been practicing it, too and now... Things weren't exactly going according to plan.

_I have to stop crying..._ Lucy mentally ordered herself. She tried to regain composure and say her lines properly.

"H-how dare you... show your face again... after breaking a promise...?" Lucy said weakly. No evil aura was present; just a hundred percent pure Lucy drama.

"Sorry…" he said calmly; and by the sound of it, he was smiling, too.

Gray stepped forward and wrapped Lucy in the safety of his arms, making the Stellar Spirit mage whimper and wail.

"I'm really sorry..." he apologized again, "But you did such a good job at cleaning my house."

"Jerk! You don't know—hic—how hard it was to chase out rats!"

"I'm sorry for the trouble..." he said again and squeezed her tightly to show how much he'd been longing for her, "And I'm sorry for not being able to keep my promise."

"D—hic—Damn right, you oughtta..." she said, almost in a whisper. She sniffed and laid her full weight on Gray who was strong enough to support her.

"And because of that, I won't pressure you to say it anymore..."

"What...?" Lucy said softly and weakly. She stopped crying now and as she laid her head on Gray's chest, she closed her worn eyes.

"We had a bet, didn't we?" said Gray, "and I couldn't keep it so..."

"... So...?"

"I won't pressure you to voice out your feelings..."

"_Hm..._"

"But Lucy..." Gray said, burying his forehead at the crown of Lucy's head, "I really _do_ love you..."

"_Zzz..._"

Lucy had completely fallen asleep then, much to Gray's surprise.

Smiling, Gray picked her up and carried her to her bed.

_Geez, you always manage to ruin my cool moments, somehow_, he thought as he gently planted a kiss on her forehead.

He didn't know if he was already allowed to do that but Lucy was asleep so it shouldn't matter, right?

Then, Gray stood up and walked away.

"Good night, Luce," he said and he exited the room.

"_Okaeri_, Gray..." Lucy muttered under her breath.

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **I was thinking of doing 50 chapters for this story… Wow, it's almost there, right? Thanks, _minna! _It's because of you that I keep writing.


	44. Let the Walls Crumble

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Most of my exams are done! Hello, _semester break!_

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: LET THE WALLS CRUMBLE-**_  
"She didn't want to hurt. And she didn't want anybody to hurt because of her either."_

Blank.

Her mind had gone blank.

Just remembering the events of the night before was enough to completely shut off all of Lucy's functions. She now stared at the ceiling as she lay on her bed, wide awake but still immobile.

Gray's confession rang in her mind. It was the last thing she'd heard before she fell asleep.

_I really do love you..._

"_Kyaaah!_" Lucy put her covers over her head as she curled up in her bed.

First thing in the morning and her mind was already full of thoughts of Gray Fullbuster.

She had to admit, the guy was pretty sweet.

And now...

_What now?_ Lucy thought. She swallowed as she bit her lower lip. These thoughts, these feelings; she knew them all too well. But the question was, were they the real deal?

Or will they end up the same way as they've once been:_ nothing but a failed relationship_?

The girl stood up and made her way into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Once done, she went to the living room only to find something on the couch, covered with blue paper.

"Oh...!" she exclaimed and remembered Gray's statement from last night:

_Really... You're ruining my plans..._

_Plans, huh_? Lucy mused as she picked up the package, which turned out to be a bouquet of pink tulips, and smiled.

Exactly what had Gray been planning? She didn't know. But now that things were crystal clear for her—Gray loved her and she was in hesitation—it just might be harder for her to even look at him.

* * *

It was very adorable of Natsu and Happy to be playing with the baby in Lisanna's womb. The two had been making funny faces at it, coupled with the most peculiar sounds Lucy had heard, for the past ten minutes or so.

"Natsu..." Mira whispered to Lucy as she prepared the dining table for them, "... He's really trying to make up for his absence..."

"I know..." the blond replied, "I think it's very sweet of him... _And Happy, too_!"

"My little siblings are truly blossoming..." Mira smiled, then it occurred to Lucy that Elfman and Evergreen had something going on.

"Except for one..." she continued.

"Huh?" Lucy asked.

"How are you, Lucy?"

"_W-What are you talking about_?"

Lucy immediately looked away from Mira and went back to prepare lunch.

She had visited Lisanna again that day at the Strauss Residence, only to find out that Natsu and Happy had beat her there.

"Lu-chan, you're so cute..." Mira said, making Lucy's face turn from pink to deep red. "You really can't hide it from me..."

"What are you talking about, Mira-san?" Lucy feigned laughter at this.

Suddenly, the door opened and Mira greeted.

"Ara! _Gray_!"

Lucy immediately glanced to look at the door.

"_Gray? Where?_" asked Natsu, as he looked back inside. He had been the one to open the door and Mira used this opportunity to completely throw Lucy off-guard.

"Nothing..." Mira explained. "I just thought that he went in. Must have been the trick of the light..."

Lucy stared at Mira in disbelief, flushing a deep shade of red.

"_Gotcha..._" Mira winked.

"_Mira-san…!_" Lucy exclaimed.

"But aren't you and Gray—"

"N-No, _we're not_!" she denied strongly.

So strongly that she'd said that aloud.

"Lucy-chan?" Lisanna asked. Natsu, Happy and she were looking at the flushing blond.

"N-nothing!" she exclaimed and backed up with a sheepish laugh. "Mira-san, please stop bullying me..."

"But it's fun!" Mira said and she went to a separate room, the kitchen. Lucy followed her.

"But Mira-san, we're _really_ not together!"

"Not _yet..._" she teased in a sing-song voice, making Lucy flush even more.

"That's—"

"_Do you like Gray?_"

"I..."

"Hm...?"

"I _don't know..._!" Lucy confessed.

"You don't know?!" obviously, Mira was in a shock. "But _how_?!"

"I don't really know either..." Lucy said. "I mean, he's sweet and all but..."

"But...?"

"I'm..." Lucy asked and looked at her feet, "I'm scared."

"Why?"

"What if... This doesn't end well?" Lucy asked, stating her hesitation.

Mira simply held her hands and smiled, "It's okay to be afraid, Lucy..."

"Huh?"

"Everyone's afraid of something..." Mira stated, "But don't let that fear get in the way of your happiness..."

"Mira-san..."

"If you keep on withdrawing from the world..." Mira said, "It's when it turns its back on you and rejects you..."

Mira then locked gazes with her 'sister,' "But when you take risks and reach for that thing you're after, the world will work out its plans and everything will fall into place... If you're willing to take that risk..."

"I..." Lucy said gloomily, "I don't know..."

"That's okay. Take your time..." Mira said. "Right now, you should find out for yourself whether or not you are ready for a relationship."

Lucy smiled at Mira and gripped her hand tightly. "Okay..."

"Then, should we tell Gray together?" she teased again.

"Mira-san!" Lucy said.

"Hello, Gray!" Mira greeted at the man who suddenly walked in them.

"Nee-chan, I'm home!" said the newcomer.

_Really Mira-san, you think the same trick will work twice?_

"Lucy's here?" asked Elfman.

Lucy, who had her back turned on him, immediately faced him… Only to find out that he had brought with him a certain raven-haired ice mage.

"Come, Elfman, help me take this out!" Mira put a big bowl of soup in Elfman's equally huge hands and led him out as swiftly as her she could.

"M-Mira-san…" Lucy exclaimed in defeat. That Mira sure had ways of getting her into trouble.

"Hey..." Gray greeted, tugging his lip upward.

"H-hey..." she replied, "You okay?"

It wasn't a random question; _it was real_. Gray, who was wearing a skin-fit top, seemed to have half his body covered in bandages, especially his hands.

"Yeah, pretty good."

"Y-you're hair is longer..." Lucy exclaimed.

_Crap!_ She thought. Of all the things she had to say—!

"Yeah, that's 'coz I never got to cut it since three months ago..."

"Y-you aren't eating with them?"

"You?" he asked back.

"I..." Lucy took a deep breath before she continued as fast as she can, "_Imissedyou...!_"

Shock and with a complete loss for words, Gray could only stare. Lucy, however, shook off her embarrassment and laughed as she started to walk out of the kitchen.

"W-Well, let's go and eat!"

"I..." Gray started, making Lucy turn around to look at him.

"I was going to cook lunch back at my house today..." his lips split into a held-back smile, "...You wanna come with me?"

"I'd—" Lucy thought for a moment.

Eating with Gray after realizing the complexity of their relationship is much, much more difficult to do than usual. If she got any closer to him, the wall she's barricaded around herself to keep from hurting would crumble. This man was jeopardizing the safe haven she was now in. She didn't want to hurt again. And she didn't want anybody to hurt because of her either.

Then, Mira's words repeated itself in her mind: _was she really going for that risk_?

The long silence made Gray's smile drop; things were a lot easier three months back.

"If you don't want to go—"

"I'd _love_ to go," Lucy cut him off, "A-Are we walking or are we taking your bike?"

Gray smirked. "Walk."

"I see..." Lucy said and she smiled sheepishly. "Let's go, then—"

"Kyaaah—!"

Lisanna's scream made Lucy and her companion turn their eyes on the room behind the door.

"Lisanna, are you okay?" Mira's voice could be heard, full of worry. The sound of chairs being pushed around and hurried footsteps made the two exit the kitchen and see what was going on.

Lisanna was now being carried by Natsu, who looked totally frantic, while Mira and Elfman, who looked as nervous and shaken, were beside him.

"It _hurts—_!" Lisanna started, but her statement was cut off by her own screaming voice.

"_Is the baby coming?!_" Mira asked.

"_Soon!_" she yelped.

"Natsu, _hospital!_" Elfman roared. He and Natsu hurried outside the house.

"Oh—!" Mira muttered and immediately started to fall.

"Mira-san!" Lucy exclaimed, diving to catch Mira and succeeding.

She looked at Gray with a smile and he reciprocated.

"I guess lunch will have to wait," Lucy said.

They laid the unconscious woman on her bed.

"You should go with Natsu and Elfman. I'll keep Mira-san company," she suggested.

"Okay..." Gray walked towards the door. "_Luce_?"

"Yeah?" Lucy said, looking at him immediately.

"_I missed you, too..._" he said and as always, Gray turned his back and went away, leaving Lucy completely emotionless and unable to react.

It took a while for Lucy to finally digest what had happened; but when she did, she could no longer hold back her smile.

* * *

THE BABY! O0o


	45. SideStory: Natsu, Lisanna, and ?

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

* * *

**-SIDE - STORY: NATSU, LISANNA, AND…?-**_  
"Welcome to the Fairy Tail family…"_

Happy blinked each time Natsu passed him by.

"Natsu...?"

The Dragon Slayer simply grunted, continuing his back-and-forth pacing.

"Aren't you dizzy?"

"Not really..."

"Are you hungry? Do you want a fish?"

"No, thanks, Happy..."

The Eksheed heaved a long sigh and looked at Gray who sat beside him. He, too, was looking as the flame mage paced.

Usually, Natsu wouldn't even be worried. But right there, outside the room where Lisanna was currently in labor, he was walking to and fro without even stopping. Every now and then, Lisanna's muffled screams of pain could be heard, along with Elfman's supportive cheer.

Natsu stopped only to gaze at the door whenever Lisanna would yelp.

It had been like that for around two hours already.

"Why don't you just go in?" Gray asked coldly.

"That's—"

"Natsu!" called a female's voice. Natsu turned.

Mirajane and Lucy had just come, the same worried looks on their faces as Natsu's.

"Can we go in?" asked Mira.

"I... I think we could but..."

"I _want_ to go in!" Mira pleaded. Luckily, a nurse was passing by.

"Ma'am, can I go in? I want to see my sister," the elder Strauss said.

"B-but ma'am, you should have gotten in before they started. The room is sterile so—"

"I don't care!" Mira shed tears at this statement. "_Let me in_!"

"O-Okay... Please follow me..." the nurse hesitantly led her into the room. Hopefully, this won't go against her record.

"I'll go with you...!" said Lucy, full of determination. The least she could do was to let Lisanna know she was there for her.

The two Fairy Tail mages and the nurse disappeared quickly as soon as the door opened and a Lisanna yelped again; clearer, this time.

Natsu collapsed on the chair where Happy sat. He heaved a deep sigh.

"You're _really_ not going in?" asked Gray, not looking at the mage beside him.

"N-No... I think I'll stay here..." he said, downcast.

"_You scared?_"

Natsu paused for a while before he continued. "_...a bit._"

"How does it feel?" Gray started, "...being a father and all..."

"A bit scary," Natsu said honestly. "Man, I don't even know how to react right now..."

Gray gave him a heartily pat on the shoulder. "You'll be fine... You're my rival, after all..."

"Yeah..." he replied, trying to sound convincing.

"Just go with your instincts; it'll help."

"As if you're one to talk..." he said, "Not like you're about to have a kid, right?"

Gray flushed. "Is that even something you say to someone who's trying to _console_ you?"

"Console? Like someone's gonna die?"

"Okay... _Making you feel better_, then," Gray corrected himself, "C'mon, they'll be fine..."

"I know, I know..." the flame mage said, nodding, "But I'm more worried about me right now."

"Eh? Why is that?"

"I don't know if I'll be a good enough dad for the kid... I mean, I'm still a kid myself."

"Got that right..."

"What the—!" Natsu said, pissed, "_Are you really trying to make me feel better_?"

"Sort of..." Gray said, "Don't worry, I said. You'll be just fine."

"Ke..." said Natsu. He shouldn't have talked to Gray. He was pointless and always heading for a fight. And right now, he was not in the mood to do so.

Almost immediately, the door opened and the nurse from a while back had come out.

"Sir, they're calling for you..."

Gray and Natsu looked at each other then stood up and walked inside.

The first thing they saw was Elfman hugging a crying Mira. In front of them was Lucy who was also in tears and clapped her hands over her mouth.

Natsu's heart felt like exploding:_ Why was everyone so emotional?!_

A soft, unfamiliar cry reached Natsu's ears and he turned his attention to a silver-haired woman who lay immobile on the bed.

His eyes widened and unknowingly, tears escaped his eyes.

"_Li... Lisanna..._" he mumbled.

Lisanna turned and, although sweating profusely and looking very weak, looked at Natsu with a gentle smile.

"_Natsu..._" she called and looked at a bundle of white blankets beside her. It stirred.

The Dragon Slayer reluctantly went beside Lisanna and peeped at the baby covered with the sheets; it had porcelain skin and had a messy silver clump for hair.

Impulsively, Natsu carefully carried the baby, not even knowing how he did. His lips split into a dumb smile and the racing of his heart had stopped; he felt very peaceful.

"Hey, kid..." Natsu greeted.

"The baby is a _boy_," Lisanna said weakly with the loudest voice she could muster. She, too, was smiling and crying like Natsu.

"You okay?" he asked and put the baby beside her again.

"I am now..." she said and closed her eyes.

Natsu put a hand on her head and kissed it. "You did a good job, Lisanna."

"Thank you..." she said and then she dozed off to sleep.

"Natsu..." Mira cried and hugged him. "_Congratulations…_"

"A _man_!" Elfman exclaimed, patting Natsu on his back.

"Congratulations, Natsu!" Lucy said from the other side, wiping her tears.

Beside her, Gray smirked. "Congratulations, pops..."

"Since the baby is a boy, what are you going to name him? _Makarov_?" Lucy asked, remembering the conversation she had with Lisanna.

"The old man's been a great father to me," Natsu started, "And I want to name the baby in such a way to remind myself that I've to be a great father myself..."

Lucy smiled proudly at Natsu.

"However, I can't think of any other name when I hear the word 'father'—" Natsu looked at the baby and took it in his arms again, "—than the actual guy who raised me...

"Welcome to the Fairy Tail family..." Natsu said to his boy, as if he could understand him, "... _Igneel_."

* * *

**Happy:** *_crying in buckets_* They've completely forgotten that I'm here!

**Me:** *_taking off the nurse's disguise_* Don't worry, I didn't forget about you!

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I thought I owed Natsu and Lisanna at least this much for giving this story more life and spice. However, I don't know if everything that happened in the hospital was right. I don't know how long labor usually goes on and I don't know if they _do_ let people in once it starts… So if I wrote something wrong, then I am to blame. But please let it pass since this is all fiction and we're doing this for fun. Thank you for your kindness!

Welcome to the world, IGNEEL-kun! *_because I suck at making names_*


	46. The Little Changes

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I could be a masochist for staying in this course but… I love this course… Sorry if it'll take me some time to update after this… Hope you will be waiting patiently still…

**THE TITLE**: **I changed it**... Title credits to WolfieANNE-chan~! Yes, you're title is a perfect fit~! I love you!

**Here's a permanent link to WolfieANNE's profile: **u/3287264/

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: THE LITTLE CHANGES-**_  
"So long, Gray-sama… Juvia wishes you happiness..."_

By evening, Lisanna's hospital room, which was of a mere five-by-seven-meter area, had been overcrowded with members of Fairy Tail who were very excited to see the baby. Needless to say everyone was present; including the Raijinshuu, Laxus, Gildarts and the master.

"Ara," Mirajane said, putting a hand on her cheek, "Everyone is here!"

"Of course! We wouldn't want to miss any of this!" Cana said, fighting her way to Lisanna's bedside.

"_You brats_!" the master said, merely hopping over everyone's heads and finally landing on Lisanna's bed, "Don't be too loud or you'll wake up little Makarov!"

"_Eh?!_" argued the crowd.

"The child is named after me," he announced, smiling smugly.

"Is that true?" asked Levy. She was the one closest to the baby, Pantherlily in her arms. At the back, Gajeel was shouting for the name of his cat.

Lisanna was now sitting up and looked at the master. "Natsu named him Igneel."

"_Ack!_" the old man exclaimed gloomily.

"Sorry, jiji!" Laxus teased. "Wait a minute, where _is_ Natsu?"

"_Here!_"

Natsu struggled to enter the room. He was bringing with him a bag with some baby stuff in it. Following him were Lucy and Gray who had brought fruits for little Igneel.

As they walked by, everyone was patting Natsu and congratulating him (except for the master who had been sulking).

"Here you go, Mira," Natsu handed the elder Strauss the bag, "Baby clothes..."

"Thank you, Natsu," she said and unzipped the bag, taking out few baby's clothing.

"It's a good thing I kept Elfman's old baby clothes."

All eyes fell on Elfman who flushed immediately. Some could no longer hold back laughter while some were too terrified to make a sound.

"That's so cute," commented Evergreen, "He's definitely _grown_."

"That would be an _understatement_," Bixlow teased.

"You looking for a fight?!" Elfman shouted, embarrassed.

"_Shut up or you'll wake the baby_!" snapped Natsu who punched Elfman in the face.

"It's _you _who needs to shut up!" Elfman retorted, grabbed Natsu's arms and threw him out of the room.

Natsu flew right onto Erza, who brought with her a cart-full of cakes.

"Why you—!"

With Erza's reciprocation, almost everyone in the room were fighting each other. However, much to Mira and Lisanna's surprise, baby Igneel did not stir nor cry but just kept on sleeping soundly.

"He must be used to the noise of this family..." Lisanna said and looked at her baby closer.

"Isn't he just _adorable_?" asked Levy.

"I know, right?" Lucy agreed. "Unlike his father... He's outgrown his cuteness; no offense, Lisanna."

"None taken."

"Gray, you're not joining the fight?" Mira asked the ice mage who simply stood suspiciously close to Lucy.

"It's pointless," Gray said, "And I don't want to be a willing party to wake the baby."

"Thank you, Gray," Lisanna said. The ice mage merely smirked.

"Oh, my," Mira exclaimed, "Did you forget to bring clothes for Lisanna?"

Lucy looked at Mira, "You didn't tell us that we needed to."

"I'm sorry," Mira said and looked at Gray and Lucy as if saying something.

"Alright, alright," Gray exclaimed lazily, "I'll go get clothes for Lisanna."

"Thank you, Gray!" Mira squealed, "_And Lucy, too!_"

"_Eh?_ I... I actually have some chores to do..." Lucy started.

"Oh, that's okay," Mira said, "Are you going now?"

Lucy laughed sheepishly. Mira had read her mind.

"Yeah..."

"Come back again tomorrow, okay?" Lisanna said.

"I will."

Gray and Lucy swiftly made their way out of the room to the hallway, occasionally avoiding bodies of Fairy Tail members flying about.

"So..." Gray started, "_Chores_, huh?"

He raised one eyebrow at the blond.

"You make it sound as if I'm lying."

"Oh, really?"

"_Yes_, really."

"Don't you wanna eat first?"

"No, why?"

"I believe you owe me dinner," he reminded all of a suddenly, "It's not like you have any chores at all, right?"

"It was _lunch_, not dinner," Lucy corrected, "And I do have chores. I've to do my laundry."

"Then at least let me take you home," he offered.

"Walk or bike?" Somehow, it felt like Lucy had asked this question before.

"Bike..."

"Good..." Lucy said, smiling. It was pretty good that they were talking casually again, without the tension and awkwardness.

The two walked a long way to where Gray parked his motorcycle. It was a rather silent walk; however, neither seemed to mind as the silence was actually very comfortable.

"Here," Gray said, giving her the helmet she usually used.

"Thanks," she smiled, as if remembering something.

"What are you smiling about?" Gray asked suspiciously, "It's creepy."

Lucy shook her head in embarrassment.

"Nothing."

"Hop on," Gray said, locking the SE plug on his wrist.

Lucy obliged, wrapped her arms around Gray's waist and unknowingly laying her head on his back.

"You comfortable?" asked Gray.

"_Very,_" she said.

And they rode off.

* * *

Juvia ran as fast as she could back to their dorm. It was her safe haven, somewhere she could express herself.

She had mixed feelings about the things that were happening; she was happy for Lisanna and Natsu; but when she saw Gray and Lucy becoming very comfortable with each other, she just didn't know how to feel. It was painful; _very_ painful.

Rain started to fall heavily at that moment, in synch with the Rain woman's feelings. She clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from wailing.

_Life is so cruel to Juvia,_ she thought. _Gray-sama is... Gray-sama..._

She kept running and running, not even realizing she had made it to their dorm.

_Home,_ she thought. _Juvia wants to rest..._

"Hey, you okay?" asked a man's voice.

Juvia looked up and saw a silhouette coming towards her with an umbrella on hand.

"It's bad for you to stay under the rain," he said, "And are you crying?"

"Juvia..." she started, "Juvia is _sad_. Juvia's chest hurts..."

"_Why?_" he asked, ushering her to the entrance where it was better lit.

Juvia didn't speak. She kept silent as they arrived at the dorm where the man she was with led her away from the rain. Juvia glanced at him who was kind enough to become all ears for her, even for a bit. He had grey hair that spiked upward; dark, slanted eyes and thin lips.

"_L-Lyon-san...!_" she said, surprised. She didn't even realize it was him and now she felt embarrassed.

"Will you be fine now?" Lyon asked, smiling gently at her, "I came here to see you but it seems you've a lot on your mind."

"Juvia is sorry..."

"That's okay," he said, "But just so you know, you can call me anytime."

Juvia flushed at Lyon's words. She had never heard that from any other man she had met— especially not from Gray.

"I'm here for you, alright?"

Juvia wailed, then immediately ran to put herself in Lyon's warmth.

_Gray-sama, Juvia just might not be for you, after all_, she thought painfully.

She loved Gray, she knew that much; but she treasured her friendship with Lucy even more. And at the back of her mind, though it hurts, she knew Lucy was the one whom he loved.

And Juvia respected that.

_So long, Gray-sama, _she thought and Lyon rubbed circles on her back. _Juvia wishes you happiness._

* * *

**Me:** Poor, poor Juvia... I'm sorry... But at least, you have Lyon, right?

**Happy:** Aye!

**Me:** Why are you doing the writer's block with me?

**Happy:** Because I'm never in any of these. I need more exposure!

**Me:** =_=


	47. So Close Yet So Far

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **We were riding on a public transportation vehicle and passed by a run-down wall. It was pretty scary because it was near a cemetery; but instead of getting creeped-out, we laughed when we read the vandalism on the wall: "GO TO HILL, BORN YOURSLEF". _WHUUUUUUUUUUUUT?!_

**APOLOGY: **Okay. So I know I'm not the best writer… I'll apologize in advance if there are a few mistakes or loose ends here and there in my fanfic. Either ways, I hope you guys'll be willing to correct me if ever I'm wrong. I'm _always _open for constructive criticism. Thank you… **Beta, anyone?**

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: SO CLOSE YET SO FAR-**_  
"She just couldn't help but keep distance even though she tried to be closer to him."_

Thunder clapped across the sky and rain poured like tears from the eyes of the clouds. The winds were threatening and the water in the river flowed madly by the roadside.

Gray cursed as he revved up his motorcycle to go even faster than how madly it was already running. He could feel Lucy's grip on his waist tighten as she held on for dear life. It seemed that she was also screaming something but the roaring of his motorcycle completely drowned it, not to mention the heavy downpour of water.

Although the ice mage drove bloody fast, he did so very carefully. The road to Lucy's house was slippery during rains and it would be a hassle if he'd have to fix his bike if it fell and broke.

Just ahead, Gray could see the light coming from the entrance of Lucy's apartment building.

He started to slow down and completely stopped in front of it.

Lucy prompted to hop off his bike and into a small shade fit for one person.

"Let's go in!" Lucy offered, shivering in the cold.

"Naah. Mira must be expecting me," he replied.

"No, I mean, you should at least wait until the rain stops."

"Well..." Gray said, then he suddenly sneezed (That was the moment Juvia had been thinking of Gray). "O-Okay."

Gray parked his bike and waddled toward Lucy; both were wet, cold and hungry.

"C-Come on..." Lucy said, and raised a shivering hand as she opened the door to let themselves in. Her lower jaw had been shivering, too, and it impaired her ability to speak clearly.

The two walked together in the equally cold and empty hallway to the stairs that led to the second floor.

"How come every time I come here it always seems to rain?" asked Gray. Being used to below-zero temperatures, he walked casually, unlike Lucy who was now trying to hug herself to get additional warmth.

"A-Ask Juvia..."

Gray only pouted as he remembered a blue-haired water mage who seemed to be obsessed about him.

"Yeah, her..."

He stared at a shivering Lucy.

"Come here," he said then pulled Lucy into a back hug.

"_W-What are you doing?!_" Lucy asked, flushing. She tried to pull away from his embrace. She just couldn't help but keep distance even though she tried to be closer to him. Things just didn't seem to work the way she'd planned them.

"Stop complaining..." he argued, "And thank just thank me for trying to keep you warm."

"You're just perverted."

Gray smiled. "No... _You're_ perverted because you were thinking about such thoughts."

* * *

As soon as they entered Lucy's unit, Gray had made himself extremely comfortable and raided Lucy's kitchen for anything to eat. He even told Lucy to _'go and wash up_,' which the blond mage did so ever obediently.

By the time Lucy had come out fresh of the wash room, a very delicious smell had filled her home.

The moment she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Gray, stirring a softly bubbling pot of stew.

"_Where are your clothes?!_" she said, pointing at him as her face grew hotter.

The ice mage had indeed stripped to his boxers and was now sporting a topless look, except for the wet bandages that were wrapped around his toned chest and waist.

"Don't worry..." Gray said, "I'm drying them by your fireplace."

"Geez... You should really stop that habit of yours," she said.

"I didn't do it _unconsciously_ this time!" he argued.

Gray set the table for Lucy and himself while the owner of the house watched intently.

It wasn't that she wasn't used to being served; it was because Gray looked different with his hair tied into a ponytail.

"Don't forget to breathe, Lucy..." Gray chuckled.

The Stellar Spirit mage blushed and pouted as she had indeed been holding her breath as she stared. "Shut up..."

"So what is it: the overly handsome face? The well-toned body? Or_ both_?"

"The face..." Lucy replied monotonously; something Gray did not expect and which made him red, "I was just thinking how different you looked because you had your hair up."

Gray chuckled at Lucy's honest statement and he sat opposite to her over her small dining table.

"I was going to cut it... But we were totally preoccupied by the mission and—"

"_Ah_!" Lucy clapped her hands to stop Grau mid-sentence, "You've never told me how your mission went!"

"Really?" asked Gray. It felt odd that he hadn't told Lucy about anything yet. It had only been two days since their return, after all; and with Lisanna's sudden labor, they didn't exactly have time together.

Lucy placed her hands on her cheeks and leaned on the table, closer to Gray. "So, how did it go?"

Gray started re-telling their encounters in the mission to Lucy; from when they got there, how they found the demons' lair, how the King had taken over Erza (which explains how beat-up they were), his and Natsu's futile attempts to awaken Erza and how, in the end, Erza had snapped out of it herself—then doing a unison raid with Natsu and Gray.

"And it turns out, the demons were Earth Spirits," Gray concluded, "And their Big Boss turned into a million red tulips."

"So the tulips you gave me—"

"Yeah..." he said, staring at the flowers on the vase atop Lucy's living room table, "I see you've kept them."

"Well they _are_ beautiful..."

_You're more so, though,_ Gray thought.

He watched Lucy give thanks and eat the food he prepared with etiquette; truly the daughter of a business conglomerate.

"Don't forget to breathe, Gray," she repeated at him. The ice mage only laughed.

"I'm not like you who loses her breath just by looking at something _amazing_."

"So it's like you're saying that _I'm_ amazing," Lucy said.

"_I am._"

Lucy smiled for a second, looked away sheepishly and went back to eating her food.

"It doesn't look like the rain is letting up, does it?" she said, trying to change the topic.

Obviously, Gray had felt this and knew right away not to make her uncomfortable.

_I am a gentleman, after all._

"Yeah, it doesn't. I guess Mira will have to wait a little longer," he said, "Wouldn't want to go out in the cold like this."

"It _is_ pretty cold outside. Good thing my room has a heater connected to the basement," Lucy said proudly, "Unless it floods then we'll keep warm here. Now aren't you glad?"

"I guess," Gray smirked.

Thunder crackled once more and suddenly, the lights went out, making Lucy let out a soft 'eep.'

"W-What happened?" she said.

"Power's out," Gray said, "Must be a dysfunction in the power source."

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed, "The power sources are in the basement... That means..."

"_What were you saying about the heater again?_"

* * *

**Me:** The power is out!

**Happy:** _Aye!_

**Me: **You're still here?!

**Juvia:** Juvia is here as well.

**Me:** *startled*

**Juvia:** You have separated me from Gray-sama! _Give me back Gray-sama_! *does a huge tidal wave*

**Happy:** She's knocked out but she's alive. A romance-filled chapter ahead! Please be patient with us!

**Juvia:** *gloomily*_ R-Romance?!_

**Happy:** *nervously* A-Aye?

*TIDAL WAVE AGAIN*


	48. Fireplace Romance

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **A** short** chapter. Hope not to disappoint. **Is open for comments, suggestions and such. **Thank you!

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: FIREPLACE ROMANCE-**_  
"Will you be willing to wait until then?"_

"Hey, _careful...!_" Gray said, flinching at the pain as Lucy changed the bandages on his body.

The power hasn't returned yet and the two had nothing to do but keep warm by sitting in front of the fireplace. It was then when Lucy realized that Gray needed to change his bandages or _'the wound will be infected.'_

"Hey! There you go again!" he complained.

"Geez, you're such a _crybaby_," Lucy said, finally tucking it tight, "It's done now, see? How did you manage to get yourself wounded like this anyway?"

"Ask Erza..." he replied, pouting.

The fireplace crackled and Lucy threw in the last block of firewood in.

"Should've gotten more yesterday..." Lucy said apologetically, "Now I don't even have enough to keep warm."

"Poor you," Gray smirked.

"You're saying that 'cause you're used to the cold."

"You have too many complaints," he said and pinched her nose between his thumb and index finger, "C'mere..."

He, again, wrapped his arms around Lucy from behind. Gray, being larger than Lucy, was able to envelope her completely as they sat in front of the fireplace.

"It's _warm..._" she said.

"Isn't it?" he said, putting his head on hers, in such a way that his chin was resting at the crown of her head.

"_G-Gray_," she said sheepishly. She'd decided to stop trying to push him away but she was still having it hard.

"Something wrong?" he asked, and pulled himself back, feeling that Lucy was being uncomfortable, "_I'm sorry..._"

"No," she said, flushing, "_I'm_ sorry, Gray..."

"Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry about_ this_," he said and stood up, "I'll get you a blanket, 'kay?"

"_Gray...!_" Lucy said, running toward him and resting her head on his back.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about me. And I don't want to pressure you either," he said, facing her and putting her face in his hands.

"Thank you..." she said, "I don't even know how you can be this patient with me..."

"You..." he grabbed her cheeks and pulled them, "Are so melodramatic."

Lucy pulled away from his grasp.

"I don't know much but..."

"But?"

"_I like you, Gray Fullbuster..._" she confessed, "I like you very, _very _much..."

Gray flushed and froze for a second. How long had he wanted to hear those words from her? And now she'd finally said it.

But there was something wrong. Something in her voice said, 'But there's a catch.'

"But..." she continued. _I knew it,_ he thought, "I'm not sure if it's strong enough for us to be in a relationship. And I'm not sure if it's pure enough to make you happy.

"So for now I want to strengthen these feelings," she said as she smiled with eyes pleading at him, "Will you be willing to wait until then?"

Gray stood silently for a while and then said honestly, "_Definitely._"

The ice mage smiled and lowered his face toward hers and closed the distance between their lips. He was very careful with his kiss; gentle and making every moment count. This brought a very warm sensation to Lucy's body. He made her feel as if she was something that would easily break or tear with one wrong move. He caressed her cheek with one hand and put the other around her waist to support her. Lucy's legs started to shake but Gray was strong enough to support her weight on his arm.

Very slowly, she started to respond to his kiss and her hands clung to his neck as she pressed her body to his.

They didn't know how long that moment had lasted but when Gray pulled away suddenly, Lucy's head felt as if it was spinning—obviously due to lack of oxygen.

"_Okay,_ I don't think we're allowed to do any more than that," he said and was obviously flushing.

"Y-Yeah... Sorry..."

"That's fine..." he said, "You said something about not being sure if you can make me happy, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" she asked, flushing. Had she actually said something like that? She couldn't even remember.

"Well, tonight, you've made me really happy."

* * *

Oh, my—

**DID SHE FINALLY CONFESS?!**

She did! But there's a catch! But so what?! **SHE CONFESSED~!s**


	49. Misunderstanding

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **WolfieANNE is my **NEW BETA**~! Thank you, Anne-chan~! Anyway, long chapter ahead.

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: MISUNDERSTANDING-**_  
"He had misunderstood Lucy's confession and now had done something really embarrassing he'd rather not think about it."_

Gray stretched and rubbed his eyes when he woke up. His room was dark owing to the thick curtains that he had set up in front of the windows. He had never been fond of waking up early and so he wanted to make sure not even sunlight could disturb him from his slumber.

But when he looked outside his window today, it was still nearing dawn; the sun was just about to rise above the horizon. For some reason, he had woken up _really_ early; so early that he was amazed with himself.

Gray greeted the day with a smile. The past night... He didn't know how to describe it but... it was _memorable_ indeed. Finally, Lucy was giving things another shot; and this time, it was with Gray.

The more he remembered last night's events, the more he got excited to see a certain blond mage that had visited him in his dreams.

Immediately, Gray got up and started to prepare breakfast. Before seeing Lucy, he still had to go to the hospital and bring Lisanna some clothes. After that, he'll go and see her...

He hummed happily as the frying pan sizzled over the stove.

_This day is going to be a good one._

* * *

"I'm coming in..." Gray announced as he opened the door to Lisanna's hospital room. He confidently went in, bag full of clothes over his shoulder. Inside, Lisanna sat up, breastfeeding her baby. Mira seemed to be changing the flowers on the bedside table. Natsu was sprawled all over the couch, sleeping, Happy on his stomach.

"Yo!" he greeted loudly.

"_Shuush!_" Mira warned, "You'll startle the baby!"

"S-Sorry..." he handed to her the bag, "Here."

"Thanks..." she said, "Even though it's late..."

"The rain wasn't stopping..." he said, looking away. He couldn't face them when he knew he was blushing, "So I had to stay over at Lucy's..."

Lisanna looked at him suspiciously, "At Lucy's? _Overnight_?"

"O-Of course not, idiot..." he said, trying to sound as cool as possible, "Only until the power went back on."

"And what were you doing there?" Mira said in the same teasing tone as Lisanna's.

"Just t-talking."

"Ara! Gray is blushing! Mira-nee, Gray is blushing!" Lisanna announced.

Gray looked behind him; hopefully, Natsu hadn't seen that or he'd tease him until who knows when!

"So, has anything _interesting_ happened yet?" asked Mira.

"Are you going out already?" seconded Lisanna. Igneel gave out a soft moan, as if saying something himself.

"Nothing happened...!" Gray denied; he remembered the things that had occurred the night before. He blushed.

"Ah... If you guys are just gonna tease me, I guess I'd better leave..." Gray announced in defeat.

"But you just got here!" Mira said, "C'mon, tell us about last night..."

Gray only looked at them flushing. For some reason, he wanted to tell them what had happened but at the same time he didn't want to. He scrunched his forehead and crossed his arms as if hinting, 'This happened...' Mira and Lisanna, being fairly well at reading gestures and expressions, had their faces lit up by bliss.

"You guys cuddled~!" they chorused, Igneel stirred.

"S-Shut up, I never said that," he denied.

"Awwe, you're so cute, Gray!" Mira said, patting his head proudly. Gray pushed her hand away sheepishly. Natsu's teasing was more tolerable than this!

"I'm really glad, though," Lisanna said holding Igneel nearer to her, "I'm glad that Lucy's glad..."

"That's just so like you, 'Sanna," he said, "Well, I'd better leave 'cause I got somewhere to be right now..."

"Awwe, okay..." Mira bid, "Say 'hi' to Lucy for me..."

"Okay—"

"So you _are_ going to Lucy's..." Mira smiled smugly.

"W-What—?"

"You can't be late, then!"

* * *

Gray sighed in defeat as he kicked the rock in front of him. Apparently, Lucy went out of her house. It was empty when he had gotten (_trespassed_) there. He went to the guild but Erza said Lucy hadn't gone by. Knowing her, she was either at the market or out doing a job. Either way, there was no chance he'd see her.

_So much for a good day._

Gray opened the door to his house.

"_Okaeri~_!" Lucy squealed.

"_Whuuuut!_" Gray choked.

There, sitting in front of the fireplace and waving happily at him, was Lucy. It surprised him that she was the one trespassing now (_although there were times when she'd done it before_) when he least expected it.

He was caught off-guard and yet pleasantly surprised.

"What— You're—!" Gray was mumbling all the words he'd wanted to say at the same time and now he hardly made sense.

"S-Sorry if I surprised you..." she said sheepishly, "I went to the hospital but you weren't there and so I came here."

"Geez," he said, "And _I_ went to your place..."

They laughed. It was _very_ comfortable.

"So...? To what do I owe this visit?" he said coolly. _Actually,_ he was very anxious at what had been happening. After last night, he knew things would get tricky between the two of them.

"I said that I'd get acquainted with these feelings, _right_?" she said sheepishly, "I really_ am_ trying."

Gray would've flushed then; Lucy was just adorable. But what he felt was neither bliss nor excitement; nor was it anything positive.

It was almost as if he pitied her.

"You... don't need to force it, you know?" he said honestly. _Was she having a hard time trying to make him feel good?_

"Eh?" she blurted out, confused.

"If you can't do it, I'm not forcing you."

"I don't—"

"What I mean to say is that... if you find it uncomfortable already... Or even slightly pressured..." he started, pausing every now and then, "You can stop..."

"What do you mean...?"

Gray found it hard to explain.

"How should I say it..." he said, looking for the right words, "You don't need to... Force yourself to like me...?"

"What are you talking about...?" Lucy blushed. _Had he hit a bull's eye?_

"I mean—"

"I do like you...!" she said with all innocence, "Didn't you get it the first time?"

"I did but—"

"Don't get me wrong, Gray. I want to be worthy of your love but _that doesn't mean I love you any less than you love me_..." she said as-a-matter-of-factly, "...Or something..."

Gray looked at her for a long time, trying to make things fit. So she loved him? Or did she just 'like' him? To Gray, those two words have completely different meanings. And what was the thing about being 'worthy'?

"I don't want," Lucy said, "To be the only one benefiting from this relationship."

"_That_'s why you don't want to be in a relationship?" he clarified, "'Cause you think you can't give me enough?"

Lucy turned apple red. She bit her lip and sheepishly said, 'Yeah.'

"So when you feel like you can give me back what I've given you," he started smartly, "You'll give us a shot...?"

"S-Something like that," he heard Lucy say.

Gray put her face in his hands in a caressing motion. Then, he smiled gently at her, making her flush, before he pinched her painfully.

"_Stupid~_" he said, "You're stupid!"

"Why?"

Instead of answering, Gray gave Lucy a quick smack on the lips, earning him a slap on the shoulder. Lucy defensively put a hand over her mouth; the kiss had been a _foul_.

"You're always giving me a hard time," Gray complained, "But you can handle my tantrums; you can appreciate all that I am and you even clean my house..."

Lucy remained silent, watching Gray throw gestures in the air like some kid who's had too much sugar.

"Until you can give me back, you say?" he chuckled, "But Lucy, you've given me _more than enough_ to make me happy."

The Stellar Spirit mage unconsciously smiled. "But… you did more for me, you know? I feel like being myself isn't enough..."

"You're wrong..." Gray put a hand on her head, "_Like this_... Just be like this and it'll be more than enough for me..."

Gray saw Lucy smile earnestly as if she was going to cry. But he knew she was happy; she's always sported that look on her face whenever she feels intense happiness.

"Ah, so all the trouble was for nothing..." she said fighting back the tears, still smiling and pinching Gray's arm off her head.

"Yes, all for nothing..." he said, shaking his hand in pain.

"I feel like I've been duped..."

"By yourself, yes..."

"But you thought that I—"

"Should we get something to eat?" Gray cut off. Just thinking about it... His pride completely fell apart. He had misunderstood Lucy's confession and now had done something really embarrassing he'd rather not think about it. _One mistake was a mistake too much_, that was a Gray Fullbuster virtue.

Gray walked ahead toward the kitchen

"You thought I was faking it!" Lucy said in an in-your-face manner.

"S-So you're _not_ faking it?" he teased, trying to make a comeback.

"N-No! Of course, not!" she said, flushing.

"Then say it to me..."

Lucy smiled sheepishly and in a whisper-like manner, said, "_Love you..._"

With little effort, Gray pulled her closely to him, his hands around her waist and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Love you too…"

* * *

SO FAST~! EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO FAST~! WHUUUT?!

What if they'll be awkward again?


	50. Snip Snap

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I know. I've been such a lousy updater. **BUT I CAN EXPLAIN. **I've been very busy with finals and clearance items. Ugh! Never thought it was gonna end~! But now it's almost over and I finally have some time on my hands. Well, the **end is drawing near **and so I'm going to write reeeeeaaaaally long chapters. Hope you guys'll stick with me 'til the end. I love you guys.

**WATCH OUT: **I've a new concept in mind; **still GraLu**. But before that, do you guys want some Gajeel-Levy? I think they're cute. Don't you?

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: SNIP. SNAP.-**_  
"Don't leave me, okay?"_

Lucy carefully cut the raven black hair with the scissor in her hand. As she did so, she couldn't help but feel warm inside as she smelled Gray's musky scent.

She smiled.

"Sorry you had to do this at this hour, Luce," Gray apologized.

"That's okay... I'm just sorry Cancer isn't around; this wouldn't have taken more than a minute..."

Gray yawned lazily. What time was it? Around eleven? Maybe. He had knocked on Lucy's door at around ten-thirty and he's been sitting there for a while now.

"Either ways, couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" Lucy asked, making a point that was hard to miss, "Surely you aren't in that much of a hurry..."

"Well, not really. But there's something I've to tell you, though," Gray replied, "Besides, it's a good excuse to see you at this time of the night."

Lucy rolled her eyes, yet blushed. It's only been three days since they got together and Gray being so casual about them was gonna need a little "getting used to".

She moved to the side and started to cut.

"Lisanna was pretty mad when Igneel got red spots on his face after touching my hair," Gray said, "So I wanted to get it cut before I go and visit again."

"That's good that you're finally thinking like an adult, Gray," she teased. "So how was Lisanna doing?"

"Fine. They're going to go home tomorrow. Natsu is fine, too. Funny how that guy changed since Igneel came..."

"We're not kids anymore, you know?" Lucy said warmly, "And Natsu is a father now so it's only natural."

"It's like you're saying that I should change, too," he smirked.

"I never said that..." she said moving to his front now. Gray closed his eyes as she cut the hair that almost covered his face.

A few more snaps was all it took and Lucy put her hands on her waist as she looked at a job well done.

"There you go, sir," she remarked.

"Thanks... How much?" he replied, playing along.

"That'll be 70 000 jewels..."

"_What?!_"

"Of course! Because I'm the best in town!"

Gray pinched her cheeks playfully. "Yeah, but 70 000 is just too much, _you rip-off!_" he joked. Lucy struggled as his pincer-like hands squeezed tighter.

Lucy forced his hand away and reached up to pull both his ears. Gray yelped in pain but kept composure, carrying Lucy by the waist and pushing her to the wall.

"Do you always assault your costumers like this?" he smirked.

Lucy blushed as she was caught cornered by Gray. But it was a different feeling from the usual anxious, butterflies-in-my-stomach thing. She was actually enjoying herself.

"No... Only you, sir..."

"Really?" he exclaimed, turning his back and pretending to think, "You must really like me, then…"

Once again, Lucy rolled her eyes. Though he doesn't say anything, she had a feeling he always wanted to hear that she liked him. Lucy doesn't mind, though. Even if he tells her a million times that he loves her, she'd never get tired of it.

"It's not that I like you, sir," she joked, "I just like playing with you..."

"_What?!_" Gray exclaimed, looking at Lucy, suddenly serious, "_You're playing with me?_"

"I didn't mean for real, dummy..." Lucy said, laughing, "You don't really think I'm playing with you, right? I'm not that kind of person..."

"_Or are you?_" Gray said, pulling Lucy closer to him and hugging her tightly.

Lucy hugged him back just as tightly and they walked in all directions as if dancing. And to Lucy, it was a very comforting feeling. She inhaled deeply, the musky scent entering her nostrils again, and buried her face deep in his chest.

"_I love you_," she mumbled to herself.

"Love you, too," Gray replied, "_So damn much..._"

There. He said it again. The words Lucy would never get tired of hearing from his mouth. Gray said it in such a sincere and loving way that proved to Lucy his love was real; not just a dream nor a game. She felt so lucky to be with him; whatever she would do, Gray always out-does and one-sided as it may seem, she'll never be able to match up to him. But Gray said it was fine.

And that was the best thing ever: _she doesn't have to change a bit_; because Gray loves her for who she is and what she can do. No matter what, he'd love her.

That's the assurance he'd said.

"Oh, right..." Lucy said, an unrelated idea coming into her train of thought, "You were going to tell me something...?"

"Oh, yeah..." Gray said, leaning back slightly to look at her properly, "I'm going on an S-Class mission again..."

Lucy's heart thumped as if something heavy had been dumped on it. She had a bad feeling in her gut that it was not a very good idea.

She broke the hug apart and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"What kind of mission?"

"Uh... Capture thieves mission, I think," he said casually, "I don't know the details but Erza says it's not really much to worry about."

"When are you going to leave...?"

"Tomorrow afternoon..."

"That's too soon..." she said, grabbing his sleeve, "And won't it be dangerous? You haven't completely recovered from your injuries."

"I'm fine, Luce..." he said, "You don't need to worry at all..."

"That's what you said before," she complained, "Can't I come?"

"No," Gray said firmly, "I'm not allowing you to go on S-Class missions. I'd die of worry,"

"What about me? If you go, _I'll_ die of worry,"

"C'mon, don't you trust me?" he said calmly, his lips parting into a confident smirk.

"I do, but—"

Gray put a finger on her lips to stop her. Dark eyes looked straight at those chocolate orbs that implored. Then, he wrapped her in his arms again and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be fine, okay?"

"Okay..." she said after a while, "Don't you _dare_ get injured."

"That'd be a hard request since it's an S-Class."

"Then... Don't get _too_ injured," she ordered.

"Hm... I'll try..." he said, "Any more requests?"

Lucy thought long and hard, not breaking away from Gray's embrace.

"Just one more..." she said.

"What...?"

"... Stay for the night...?"

* * *

Sunlight was annoying.

Especially when you want to sleep as much as you want but it brightens up everything and makes it hard to sleep.

Gray tried to shut his eyes more.

It wasn't working.

_Great, now I won't be able to go back to sleep..._ he thought. Gray breathed in deeply and smelled lavender. He smiled.

Opening his eyes, streaks of golden hair met his gaze.

To his right, Lucy was beside him, sleeping comfortably in his arms.

The night before, Lucy had asked him to keep her company before he leaves. Unfortunately, at that time of the night, there wasn't much they could do together so they just slept.

Gray looked at his girl once more.

_Even when she's asleep, she's adorable,_ he mused.

Gray carefully moved as to keep her from waking. Then, with much gentleness, he moved closer and gave her a morning kiss.

"Sorry, Luce, but I can't stay," he said, "Gotta prepare for a mission, you know?"

He got off the bed and walked toward the door.

"_Gray...!_" Lucy exclaimed from behind him. He immediately turned to look.

"I'm here..." he said, "What's wrong?"

His eyes widened.

Lucy was crying.

* * *

_Lucy ran as fast as she could. As she did, the sound of her boots as they stomped on the ground echoed around the moss-covered walls._

_She tripped, but she got back up._

_Her stomach lurching, she could only think of one thing: Gray._

_Where was he? Was he safe?_

_The answers to those questions were not a hundred percent 'Yes'._

_The blond kept on running, her chest feeling very heavy. She didn't know why but for some reason, she had a feeling that Gray was in grave danger._

_Lucy came across an old oak door. Much like the rest of this place, it had moss growing on it. Its hinges were already rusty and some boards were broken._

_She held out a hand to open the door. Behind this door, Gray would be there. She could hear her heart racing when the door creaked open. She took one step in; the light shone brighter the sun in her eyes, almost blocking her view._

_The bright light faded._

_Tears fell from her eyes._

_There, in front of her, was Gray, arms on chains spread out on the wall; his body was beat-up. Blood trickled down his forehead. What's worse was there was a sword lunged through his chest._

_Lucy could feel her knees weakening but she mustered all the strength she had left to go to him._

_"Gray, what happened?" she said in between sobs. She traced her hands on his cheek._

_Gray opened his eyes and smiled, then coughed up some blood, making Lucy wail._

_"Hey, don't cry..." he said in a normal tone, "C'mere..."_

_Lucy got on her tiptoes and gave Gray a soft kiss on his lips._

_"I told you... It was dangerous..." she started, "Now look what happened!"_

_"It's okay," he comforted, "Don't cry..."_

_Gray's voice sounded weak; as if he had no longer strength to talk._

_"Shussh... Don't talk anymore, let's get you out of here," she said, wiping her tears courageously, "Don't leave me, okay?"_

_"Sorry, Luce, but I can't stay," Lucy looked up in amazement, "Gotta prepare for a mission, you know?"_

_Then, Gray broke the chains that bound his hands to the wall and walked towards the door._

Lucy woke with a start, large drops of tears falling from her eyes. She looked to her left. Gray was no longer there. She sat up immediately and looked toward the door.

He was already leaving.

"_Gray..!_" she said.

The ice mage turned and smiled.

"I'm here. What's wrong?"

When he saw Lucy's tears, Gray's eyes widened and he immediately came to hug her close.

"Why're you crying?"

"I... I had a dream..." Lucy confessed, wiping her tears. Though it was just a dream, it seemed real.

"A dream?" he asked, "You mean, a _nightmare_?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"What was it about?"

"You left for the mission..." she sobbed, "And you were _dying_..."

"_What_?!" Gray's heart stopped for a moment. The thought of him dying was uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry. I was thinking about horrible things..."

"Sssh..." he said, rubbing circles on her back, "Don't worry about it anymore."

"D-Do you really have to go?"

"_Luce_..."

"O-Okay... I understand..."

"Don't worry, alright?" he smiled reassuringly, "Promise I'll be safe..."

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **And this is the part where I say, 'Don't make promises you can't keep'… Hope you like this chapter~! Love you much! (_) *me hugging you*


	51. Danger

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **I know it's late but... What?! Chapter 49 **already**?! Oh my! It's almost chapter fifty, **the finale**! How will this turn out, I wonder…?

**WARNING: **A long chapter ahead… Took me about a few hours to write… **BRING POPCORN**…

* * *

**-CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: DANGER-**_  
"Love... It can make people stupid, impulsive… and suicidal."_

The train hooted and the engine started running. Gray and Erza sat together silently while Natsu was weakly spread across the seat, mumbling something about 'never riding on a train again.' Beside him, Happy was busy eating fish.

"You sure it's okay to leave Lucy behind?" Erza asked, arms folded across her armor-covered chest, "We could always use another hand."

"Positive," Gray replied, "Don't wanna put her in harm's way."

"You're too selfish, Gray," Erza reprimanded, "Don't you think it'll be too much to have you away from her?"

"I'll be fine, I said. This isn't the first time we've gone on an S-Class, right?"

"Just about right..." Erza agreed, "But still, she should've come."

Gray only rolled his eyes and stared outside the window, his elbow resting on the ledge. Selfish or not, having Lucy on an S-Class with him would be distracting, aside from being dangerous. It wasn't that he didn't think she could handle the difficulty of the mission; it was more of something like he wouldn't be able to concentrate on the job.

He sighed. She really did look worried when Lucy said goodbye.

He put his hand in his left pants pocket and took out a small, red, strawberry.

_Don't worry, Luce..._ he thought, _I'll definitely come back safely._

* * *

Lucy nervously hopped on the train. Even Gray won't be able to stop her from following him. She had a completely different feeling about the said mission. She wouldn't consider herself a clairvoyant but not once has she doubted her woman's instinct. And usually, she was right.

She looked ahead, five seats away, where Erza, Natsu, Happy and Gray sat comfortably. A while later, the train started moving and Erza and Gray got into a conversation that was beyond ear-shot.

Guilt flooded Lucy. If Gray finds out she secretly went with them, she's dead.

_Sorry, Gray_, she thought, _But I have a really bad feeling about this._

* * *

When they arrived in a small station outside Magnolia, Lucy hurriedly got off the train and hid somewhere Gray and the others wouldn't spot her but she could see them. The plan worked perfectly and she followed them into a shabby inn where the three of them plus Happy had spent the night. Lucy, on the other hand, stayed in the inn in front of theirs, carefully tracking their every move.

The day after they arrived wasn't much. The Fairy Tail mages went to their client, the mayor, and discussed some stuff about the mission. Lucy opted to just stay away and not follow them inside the city hall. Afterwards, they went to the city to buy some supplies where, unfortunately, some thick-faced ladies went swooning over Gray and Natsu. It was a good thing Natsu was thicker than they were and immediately passed off their flirtatious behaviour as mere friendliness. Gray, on the other hand, bluntly dumped the ladies and told them that he already had a girlfriend. This contented Lucy; at least Gray knows to whom he belonged to even when he didn't think she was looking.

Now, a day after they've arrived, the three were eating in an open-air cafe where they discussed details. Lucy kept a close watch, sitting two tables away behind them. She wore a thick coat and a black wig to conceal her identity. Then, she listened to their conversation.

"... Must be their headquarters..." Erza explained, "We should probably check it out tonight."

"_Totch good!_" Natsu agreed. He sounded as if he had food in his mouth.

"Should we expect a confrontation...?" Gray asked.

"We have to be prepared for _anything,_" Erza stressed.

"Ma'am, here's your juice," said the waiter.

"Go put it over there," Lucy said sternly and pointed. However, she bumped the glass and the juice was poured over her shirt.

"_Eep_!" she screamed loudly, standing up. By then, people were already staring at her and, knowing those four, they were probably staring, too. Lucy carefully excused herself and went to the bathroom, trying not to attract any more attention. She grabbed a towel and wiped the liquid off her chest.

"Darn it..." she exclaimed, "Now I'm wet."

"As I thought," said a female's voice behind her. Lucy nervously looked behind and saw Erza leaning on the door frame, arms across her chest, staring at her, "So it really _was_ you..."

"_Erza_!"

"You didn't really think I'd miss you coming here, right? I could feel your magic power since the train."

"Does Gray—"

"No, I don't think so," Erza assured, "He doesn't really suspect."

"Please don't tell!" the Stellar Spirit mage begged.

"I understand. I knew how worried you were from the beginning," Erza said, patting her shoulder, "Just one thing, though..."

"What...?"

"_Don't_ get in our way."

* * *

The group headed out at around nine in the evening. Gray, Erza and Natsu prepared themselves for some serious ass-kicking.

They started walking to the woods and an hour later, arrived in a huge palace-like place that had been run down and moss-covered.

"Strange…" Gray said.

"The locals say that suspicious-looking people come here every day but they were too scared to actually find out who they are," said Erza.

"Alright!" Natsu said, clapping his fists together, "I'm all fired up!"

"Okay, let's move," Erza ordered, "Be stealthy. And in case of a battle, be careful."

The three of them moved inside the building.

* * *

So it really was a bad idea not to go in with them, Lucy realized. She stayed for a while outside the mansion because she was scared that she'd be found out. But she figured the outside was scarier than the inside and went in after hearing a few explosions here and there. Scared and alone, the Stellar Spirit mage ran in all directions to find anyone she knew.

_Boom!_

_Another explosion_. Lucy's stomach churned and she bit her lip. _Where were they?_

"Natsu! Erza! Gray! Happy! Where are you?" she shouted.

She looked around once more and ran.

_Boom!_

An explosion that was closer to her could be heard and Lucy turned to run toward it.

"Gray! Natsu! Erza! Happy!" she called again, "Where are you?"

Just ahead, Lucy could see a pillar of smoke, probably from the explosion just now, and started running toward it.

The smoke started to clear and Gray could be seen, struggling in a battle with some guy who was wearing a black mask and what seemed to be a ninja-suit. He and Gray were in some swordfight, where the ice mage had smartly transformed his ice into a samurai to combat the man's sword.

The sword, to Lucy's surprise, was the one lunged through Gray's chest in her dream.

"_Graaay_!" she screamed.

Gray's head snapped to her direction and he looked at her in disbelief.

"_What the hell are you doing here?!_" he shouted.

The masked guy took this opportunity and struck Gray, but the ice mage's equally sharp reflexes were able to block it and the two stood, swords clashing together in a stalemate.

"Get out of here, _now_!" Gray ordered.

"B-But—"

The masked guy kicked Gray and he flew around five meters away, crashing into a wall.

"_Look out_!"

"Don't give yourself any openings," he said calmly, "Or it'll be the end of you."

Gray stood up immediately in his ice-make position. "Ice make _lance_!"

The masked guy easily avoided the attack and continually swung his sword in mid-air. The air currents were cut and came pelting at Gray.

"Ice make _shield_!"

"_Gray_!"

There was another explosion and when the smoke it brought cleared, Gray could be seen panting, multiple cuts all over his body but his ice shield intact.

"How—?!"

"You're a hundred years too early to be battling me," the masked man said, pointing his sword at Gray, who knelt down in defeat and finally collapsed.

"_No_!" Lucy yelped. The man looked at her.

"And _you_ shouldn't involve yourself in other people's business," he remarked, "Lest you get in their way and get them _killed_."

He held out his hand at Lucy. Fear gripped the girl. She had sensed great evil from the man and it was enough to make her lose all strength in her knees. She wanted to run but she felt as if she had no control over her own body.

"W-What's happening...?" she asked.

"_Shadows_ are an interesting weapon," the man said slowly walking toward Lucy mockingly, "They're easy to manipulate and control because they're intangible..."

"_Get away from her_—!" Gray struggled to stand but his legs wouldn't move.

"... And yet they make the sharpest blades that can cut through _anything_..." he continued calmly. He raised one hand back at Gray and the ice mage floated in mid-air in one second, and came crashing to the wall the next.

"_Gray_!" Lucy screamed. She realized she had been crying and she tasted the saline tears that fell from her eyes.

"But do you know what's more dangerous than shadows...?" he asked, walking even more slowly now that he was closer to Lucy. The girl quivered.

"_Love_," he said, "It can make people stupid, impulsive... and suicidal."

"S-Stop...!" Lucy begged. Unable to move or even call a spirit, she could only beg for dear life. She tried to move but she was being controlled by the menace now nearing her.

"Is this man your lover?" He looked at Gray in disgust. Lucy panted. "I thought so. The look in your eyes says it all."

The man watched earnestly as Gray struggled to get up. Then he turned back to Lucy, who was now dripping in cold sweat.

"How you would feel, I wonder," He mocked, "If you were to die in the hands of your beloved?"

Lucy's eyes widened. The man raised his hand again and his shadow connected with Gray's and the ice mage walked in a zombie-like manner toward them and created another ice sword.

"G-Gray..." Lucy muttered, hoping Gray was fine.

"Goodbye, little miss."

The masked man closed his hand into a fist at Lucy and Gray came running at her with a sword.

"_Lucy_—!"

"_Die_!"

Closer. Closer, Gray came. It was all in slow-mo for Lucy. It was bad; very bad. But she couldn't blame anyone else. How could she? It was her choice to follow them there and now she was paying for her actions.

"I'm sorry, Gray," she said out of desperation, closing her eyes and praying for a miracle.

If she were to die, though, at least she knew he loved her.

She waited for him to strike.

But it didn't come.

Instead, Gray shouted and the sound of a sword being swung could be heard.

"_Ugh_!" said the masked man's voice.

Lucy opened her eyes to see Gray panting, blood dripping from the sword in his hand. Apparently, he had used all his will to control himself and used the split second to change his target from being Lucy to his true opponent, who now knelt on the floor, chest slashed.

"This is why I didn't want you to come, stupid," he smirked, "I won't be able to concentrate with you around."

"I'm sorry, Gray," she said, now being able to move freely. Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in it, "I'm sorry..."

Gray put his arms around her as well and hugged.

"I'm gonna have to punish you for this," he joked.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, "I just thought that—"

Lucy couldn't finish her sentence when Gray suddenly pushed her away.

He grunted and a sword pierced through his chest.

"_Gray_!" Lucy said, wide-eyed.

And as if that wasn't enough, the masked man, from behind Gray, twisted the sword and unsheathed it. Gray fell on the floor, hitting his head hard.

"_No_!" Lucy said.

"_Fool_!" the man exclaimed weakly, "Never let your guard down!"

"_Lucy_!" Erza said from behind the masked man. She drew a sword and knocked the man unconscious beside Gray.

"Lucy!" Natsu and Happy chorused, both of them injured and bleeding.

Lucy could only cry as she knelt on the floor and carried Gray's half-dead body close to hers.

"No... No..." she said, trying to feel his heartbeat.

"Lucy..." Erza said, trying to take him away from her, "Come on..."

"No!" she said, hugging him closely, "_No_!"

"Lucy's lost it!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Look at Gray!" Happy remarked.

"What—?!" Erza and Natsu said together.

Gray weakly opened his eyes and smirked.

"Luce," he whispered, panting for breath. The girl leaned closer to hear him better, "I..._ love you_..."

Lucy's eyes widened.

"N-No..." she said, hugging him even more closely so.

Lucy wailed to the point that she could no longer breathe properly and Erza took this opportunity to take Gray away from her and tried to stop his bleeding. Meanwhile, Natsu took off his vest and gave it to Lucy, hugging her. Happy did so, as well.

"_Damn_!" Erza exclaimed.

"Erza...?" Natsu turned to his armored companion.

She looked up with a serious expression on her face.

"Gray…" Erza started, "_has stopped breathing_."

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **OH MY GOSH. I just killed Gray Fullbuster! I could already feel fangirls' death stares at me! Spare me! Have mercy! I promise to pay you back! :'(


	52. Finale

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Okay. So this is the last chapter but I'm thinking of doing another chapter as an epilogue. Before you guys go on and ignore this writer's block, there's something important I have to tell you **(AND I REALLY MEAN THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT): THANK YOU SO MUCH**. You guys should know that the only reason why I keep on writing is because I'm always inspired by your sweet reviews and constructive criticism.

**To all those who have reviewed, favorited and followed this story; to the guests who've posted comments; to you guys who have PM-ed me for suggestions and beautiful words of inspiration; to those who have given me advice and constructive criticism; to those who have read this ***long* **fan-fiction from the start and even from 'INVISIBLE'; and to those who believed in magic and in Fairytales (I cannot name you all but you know who you are): THANK YOU. YOU MAKE THIS WORLD A MUCH BETTER PLACE FOR THIS LONELY WRITER-WANNEBE.**

**SOMETHING TO LAUGH AT: **I actually _can _name you all, those who have reviewed and favorited, but I'm too lazy and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me.

* * *

**-CHAPTER FIFTY: FINALE-**_  
"How could I be happy if it's not with you?"_

_Gray... has stopped breathing..._

Those words said so calmly from Erza's mouth were the last thing Lucy had heard before everything blacked out. She could remember clearly how Gray lay on the ground, immobile and pale, blood all over his body.

_It had to be a dream_, Lucy mused, _it just had to be_. If it wasn't, how could she forgive herself? After all, it was she who decided to follow them and meddle in their mission.

She was a _fool_.

And now, she had regretted her actions, hoping God would somehow forgive her, overlook this matter and wake her up from this nightmare.

How long she had spent unconscious, she didn't know; but when she woke up, she was already in an unfamiliar room that smelled like bandages and rusting iron.

Lucy gasped when she woke up, taking a full view of the ceiling and her nearby environment. Later, she realized that she wasn't in her room.

"_Lucy_...!"

Happy suddenly came pouncing onto Lucy's chest. Erza and Natsu crowded around her, completely blocking everything else from view.

"You okay?" asked Natsu.

"She's still shaking..." Erza remarked, grasping Lucy's cold left hand.

"Do you want a fish...?" Happy pulled a fish out of nowhere.

"Gray... _Where's Gray_?" Lucy used her elbow to push herself up, looking around for any sign of the raven-haired mage anywhere.

"He's fine," Erza said, letting out a long sigh, "We were just preparing to leave."

"Lucy, we got your things as well," said Happy, trying to comfort her.

"Where is he now?" she asked.

"We had Jet come here and take him back ahead of us," Erza said, "We figured it was the fastest way to get him to Wendy."

"Is he awake yet...?"

Erza and Natsu looked away in remorse.

"He... lost a lot of blood," Erza started, "Somehow, we were able to revive him but he hasn't woken."

"I see..."

"I'll go ahead and put your things in the carriage," the armored mage said, putting a gentle hand on her ally's shoulder, "Come down when you're ready, okay?"

Lucy didn't nod but Erza turned around and exited the room anyway.

As of the moment, Lucy should have been crying and wailing out of worry but surprisingly, she couldn't even shed a tear. There was, however, a stinging feeling in her chest and her arms and legs seemed to have lost all strength.

Natsu could only stare.

"You okay?" asked Natsu.

"Yeah," Lucy replied monotonously, "Just a bit... _scared_."

"That's you alright..." Natsu said, smiling, "You're always scared."

Lucy tried her hardest to put a smile on her face but it did not seem to be working. Instead, she forced her lips apart to show some teeth, tweak her eyes and pull back her jaw.

"You look like you could use the bathroom..." Natsu commented. The girl heaved a sigh.

"Don't worry, I say!" Natsu reassured her and repeatedly pat her back. "He's not someone to die easily."

"Yeah."

"Now let's go," he said, smiling, "By the time we get back, he'll be waiting for us with that annoying smirk on his face."

Lucy pictured the scene in her mind.

"Yeah," she smiled, "...Yeah."

* * *

Erza, Natsu, Happy and Lucy walked slowly but anxiously up to Wendy's room.

"Wendy, we're coming in...!" Natsu announced and deliberately opened the door.

The young sky dragon could be seen standing on the bedside, hands opened and placed above Gray's chest. The ice mage, however, only lay there silently, completely oblivious of the world.

"Wendy..." Erza called and the girl looked up at her, sweating, "Are you okay...?"

"Yeah," she replied, "But more than that... Gray-san has lost a lot of blood. It was good that Natsu-san closed the wound before it could get any worse."

Lucy looked at his chest: it seemed to have been somewhat burned. That must be from Natsu trying to close the wound. He did the same thing when Macao had been taken over by Balkan.

"Will he wake soon?" asked Lucy.

"That's what I wanted to say," Wendy started apologetically, "Somehow, he's not waking up yet and I couldn't find anything else wrong with him."

"He actually fell hard head-first on the floor," Erza asked, "Is this something we should worry about?"

"Well, this isn't the first time that I've encountered such a feat but it's not anything worrisome if he wakes up within three days," the girl explained.

_Three days_, Lucy thought, _So if he wakes up before then, he'll be fine._

She smiled and her heart was at peace again.

"What happens if he doesn't wake up in three days?" Natsu suddenly asked.

"Well..." Wendy fidgeted and behind her back, she crossed her fingers, "_He might not wake up at all._"

* * *

One. Two. Three days passed. Natsu and Lisanna, along with Igneel and Happy, optimistically walked to Gray's house, bringing with them food. They anticipated that Gray would have been awake by then, as it was already the fourth day, so they were planning to have a welcome party.

Natsu enthusiastically opened the unlocked door.

"Hey, _Lucy_! _Gray_!" he called. Lucy had been staying at the ice mage's house to attend to him.

"Natsu! This is trespassing! And it's _rude_!" Lisanna reprimanded, cradling a sleeping Igneel in her arms.

"Don't worry, 'Sanna," he said, putting the food on the living room table in front of the fireplace, "I'd take care of it if Gray gets mad."

"N-Natsu! Lisanna!" Lucy exclaimed upon opening the door to Gray's room, "Happy, too!"

"Yo!"

"Good morning, Lucy-chan!" Lisanna greeted.

"We came to welcome Gray back to the living!" Natsu joked, "Where is he?"

"He's—"

Lucy couldn't even explain as Natsu forcibly opened the door to Gray's room.

"Hey, snowcone—!"

Natsu stopped. He expected the ice mage to be eating on the bed, his mouth full of food and looking at him with a surprised look on his face. Then, he would be pissed because he was disturbed. However, this wasn't the scene Natsu had come upon.

Instead, Gray lay still where he had been always been, sleeping; silent, immobile and apparently, unconscious.

"Lucy-chan..." Lisanna said, her heart feeling a sting of pity for Lucy.

"Y-You shouldn't have come..." Lucy feigned a smile, "Now all this food is gonna go to waste..."

She politely led Natsu out and closed the door.

"He hasn't woken yet, you see..." she added, "I waited but..."

Lisanna put Igneel in his father's arms and pulled Lucy into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Lucy-chan..." she said, feeling Lucy's tears immediately fall on her shoulder, "We feel the same way."

* * *

Lucy decided to move and live in Gray's house to attend to him. She did so because her apartment was a bit far from his house and if she were to move back and forth just to get her things of do her laundry; it would take too much time. Who knows? The moment she leaves, Gray might wake up and find nobody there.

And she wanted to be the first person he sees when he wakes up.

Yes, Lucy had waited patiently and optimistically for the ice mage to come to. It had been a month but he still showed no signs of consciousness of even physical activity. But she didn't want to be discouraged at all. She wanted to be happy and believe that the time would come soon for Gray to wake up.

A lot has happened in the past month: very difficult things that Lucy had to adjust and get used to. First was that she needed to move in. Cleaning the ice mage's house was a challenge was it seemed to be dirt-friendly. Second, making sure Gray does not starve to death. Since he could no longer eat by himself, Lucy had to feed him. Well, not really. Wendy, being the smart girl that she is, had made a potion to give to Gray which gives him as much energy as if he were eating normally. The challenge, though, was getting Gray to take it in and cleaning up his mess—which did _not _make Lucy pleased. Third, Lucy could no longer take jobs because that would mean she would be leaving Gray behind for a long time. And so Lucy decided to just help Mira out at the bar until Gray came to.

It was a good thing, though, that the Fairy Tail members were understanding and supporting. They would visit Lucy and cheer her up. Sometimes, they would drop by and give her food and money. Although Lucy had been a very proud woman, she gladly accepted these gifts as well as accepted the fact that she could not face this predicament alone.

And deep inside her, Lucy was feeling very, very, _very _lonely.

Lucy opened the door to Gray's room that evening and ate beside him. She took out a letter from her pocket and showed it to Gray, as if he could see it.

"Look, Gray," she said, "Lulu wrote us a letter!"

She opened it and read, "It says that she is currently trying to learn magic and plans to visit us with Toushiro and Ren soon. Isn't that exciting?"

She smiled enthusiastically at Gray and laid her head on his cold hand, "That's why you have to wake up by then so that when they see you, you can at least greet them by yourself."

She played with his hair for a while before returning to her meal. She looked at him from head to toe.

"Aren't you sore?" she asked, "You've been sleeping like that for the past month."

Her eyes trailed down the bed and onto a something red and leather-bound sticking out from under the mattress. Curious, Lucy took it out and realized it was Gray's journal, the one that Elise had said he kept under his bed.

Lucy opened it and read his earliest entries, which was from around a decade back. He wrote about how Elise had been really nice to him, but scary at the same; how he had been dreaming about Ur recently; about how Elise had taught him to cook; how he had heard about Fairy Tail, leaving Elise and joining the guild.

It was like Lucy was reading Gray's colourful life.

Lucy jumped to his teenage entries. It didn't hold much except Gray's experiences in missions and his usual bickering with Natsu. He also wrote about previous girls he had liked, like Macy who sold ice cones at the local market and Louise who was a shepherd girl from a distant country. Lucy laughed.

She skipped and skipped, enjoying the good 'book' when she stumbled upon a portrait of herself, eyes puffed up and sleeping. Below, Gray wrote '_Lucy had just broken up with that bastard Natsu. Note to self: beat him up senseless when I see him._' Oh, yes. At that time, Lucy was comforted by Gray. She smiled not only upon remembering but also at how good Gray was at drawing – almost as good as Reedus.

She skipped again to the part where Gray wrote about how they _'had kissed in the most unlikely place: the Hall of Mirrors_' and how _'awkward it was for Lucy to be doing that with me. Maybe I should distance myself a bit?'_ Lucy blushed. She remembered the emotions that were swirling inside her at that time, and how Gray had been a good listener.

Lucy flipped more pages and read the part where she had chosen Natsu over Gray. Gray wrote in one-word sentences in that entry and the longest sentence happened to be '_Whatever makes her happy'._ Lucy smiled and the tears started to accumulate in her eyes. She flipped the pages again to Gray's entry a month ago when they got together.

_I can't even begin to write how I feel tonight. It's like I'm dreaming but I'm not! I hope this isn't a dream, though. Finally, all the patience paid-off and Lucy finally realized her feelings for me. Writing about this now makes it sound like I'm a martyr, though. But I guess it was all worth it. All those months of constantly watching her from afar paid off and now I'm finally this close to her._

_Maybe I should go and pay her a visit tomorrow? I wonder if she'll be awkward again. That girl is too shy. Not that I can talk myself. I have to continue to show to her a cool side of me but what she doesn't even know is that I get butterflies in my stomach whenever I see her smile so earnestly; even more so when it's because of me. I can imagine her face right now._

_Her blond hair which she likes to tie sideways with a blue ribbon always falls just below her shoulders. Her eyes are the color of dark chocolate, which Lucy avoids. She thinks it makes her fat. But does she know that eating too much frozen yogurt is even worse? She smells like lavender and she hates spiders but tries to be brave and not freak out at the sight of them. She drools when she sleeps and her left eye tweaks when she smiles._

Lucy felt the tears falling down her cheeks. So that's how Gray saw her. She felt embarrassed. She can imagine Gray's face well but she can never tell what color his eyes are or whether or not he smells like something she is familiar with. She doesn't know if he drools when he sleeps of if his eyes tweak when he smiles.

_Lucy is also a bad liar. She tells me she's okay when she's really not. I hope she tells me honestly. I'm her boyfriend now, after all. I'll always be here for her so I hope she can be more honest with me. Even before this, she had always tried to make herself look stronger and courageous but she doesn't fool me. I want her to be more honest with her feelings when she's with me. But I'll just wait until she's ready. After all, whatever makes her happy will probably make me happy, too._

Lucy slammed the book shut as she tried to swallow the cries that were dying to get out. She looked at Gray while biting her lip.

"You want me to be more honest, _do you_?" she screamed, "Well, here you go!"

Lucy threw the book to the ground and stomped her feet out of anger and defeat.

"I'm _lonely_! _Very _lonely!" she started, "I'm all alone here, you sorry excuse for a boyfriend! And I'm very disappointed in you!"

The girl balled her hands into a fist and started hitting the bed.

"You were supposed to wake up a month ago! _How can you do this to me_?!" she screamed, "I try to be happy and optimistic so that you won't see me in such a sorry state but _how can I be happy all the time_?!

"How can I be happy when it's not with you? How can you just lie there and not see me in this state? If whatever makes me happy makes you happy, too, then you must feel this sadness, right?!"

Lucy hit Gray's chest with her fists and cried. She had always wanted to do that but thinking that Gray would probably not be happy to find her in such a state, she forced herself to smile and tell everyone she was okay.

But not anymore. She had had _enough_.

"Just wake up…" she pleaded, "Please…"

Lucy looked at him with eyes that were blurred with tears.

"Wake up, _dammit!_"

Lucy hit Gray on his injured chest where the sword had been sheathed into. Then, having no more strength to hit him, she cried.

All the emotions and feelings she had been hiding for the past month had finally escaped and Lucy was a living stress ball. She was sad, angry, disappointed, discouraged and confused. It was all too much for her to handle.

"Please wake up…" she whispered.

Suddenly, Lucy felt a hand caressing her head, playing with her hair.

"Lucy…" croaked a voice.

Lucy looked up filled with hope and celebration. Beneath the vision blurred with tears she could see Gray's face, smiling weakly at her.

"Get off of me…" he said, "You're too heavy."

The girl's mouth quivered out of excitement and she tried hard to swallow her tears. Then, without warning, she jumped onto Gray and hugged him tightly.

"_O-Ow… _My injury…" he complained, "Not too tightly, Lucy, or my wound will reopen…!"

"You're a month late, darn it!" she complained and held him even tighter, "Have you no shame?!"

"S-Sorry…" Gray replied and wrapped his arms around her, "I was dreaming a really good dream."

Lucy broke the hug and smiled at him, "A really good dream…?"

"Yeah…" he said, then weakly carried an arm to pinch Lucy's nose, "It was about you."

Gray's hand travelled from Lucy's nose to her cheeks and he pulled her close to give her a soft kiss.

"Ew," Lucy exclaimed, laughing slightly after they had kissed, "I just remembered you haven't brushed your teeth within a month."

"Oh, yeah…" he said, smirking, "Ew…"

Gray looked at her with really gentle eyes and smiled. Lucy could only burst into tears. The happiness was overwhelming.

"Lucy…" he said. Lucy looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Tadaima…"

The Stellar Spirit mage clung to his neck and whispered, "Okaeri…"

Lucy promised to herself that she would love Gray as much as he loved her. She would try to pay more attention to him and know him completely; like what the color of his eyes are or what his favourite color is; what he liked to eat or drink and whether or not he was happy.

Lucy tried to picture Gray in her mind. She smiled.

_Right, _she thought, _his eyes are black._

**-END-**

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **I'm really sorry if I made some of you cry because of Gray's *fake* death... I hope I made it up to you right here in this chapter... And also, there's an epilogue coming so, yeah... Thank you again for being so patient and so kind. God bless you all! 3


	53. EPILOGUE

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Fairy Tail; not its characters, the settings or anything—Hiro Mashima-sensei does. The only thing I do own is the plot of this story. Either ways, please respect our works.

**WRITER'S BLOCK: **Whee~! An epilogue! It's because I just _love _epilogues and behind-the-scenes. And because I love you guys so much, this is a present I'm sending with all my love. Hope you like it!

**WARNING: **I'm not sure what rating I would give this but to be safe I'm going to rate this **somewhere between T and M**. Watch out for some provocative and suggesting writing. **Kids, this chapter isn't for you. You have been warned.**

* * *

**-EPILOGUE: EVEN CLOSER-**_  
"Never get tired of hearing that..."_

The blonde turned on her bed to get comfortable. The three-hour nap she had wanted to get was unfortunately disturbed by the sudden aridity of the air in her room.

She grunted as she turned again, wiping the sweat that now trickled on her forehead. She tried to cool herself by flapping her hands over her face and generate wind. It wasn't enough.

Since when did her room get so uncomfortable, you ask? – Since she moved in her boyfriend's house, that's when.

Lucy lazily sat up, eyes half-closed. She looked outside the window of the dark room to see that it was already twilight. She smiled. In her old home, neither the sunrise nor the sunset could be seen because of all the buildings that surrounded the place. The view of the river, however, was lovely during dusk but nothing beats the view of the orange sun sinking down the horizon as the moon takes over its place, accompanied by the song of the night creatures of the forest.

_No wonder Gray didn't want to move,_ she thought to herself, _it's so peaceful here._

The blond was still getting used to her new place, having only spent two days there. Although she'd slept over a few times and stayed there temporarily when Gray was injured, the thought that she was going to live there _permanently _was still very estranging.

Lucy breathed in before finally getting up and out of the room where she was greeted by the view of the kitchen. Over at the stove, her boyfriend bent over, probably cooking something for the two of them to eat for supper.

She smiled. Of all the things Gray Fullbuster was good at, he was best at taking care of her. Of course, she had also tried her best to help out with the expenses and the cleaning. Now that they were under the same roof, they had to divide the responsibility like that.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Gray looked behind him and smirked.

"You're sweating," he greeted, and then went back to his cooking.

"It's always so hot in there during afternoons," she replied, "I could never get decent naps."

"And in the evening? Can you sleep well?"

"It's still a bit dry at night but it's bearable."

Lucy leaned on the counter beside him and watched as the ice mage stirred the contents of pot. He put some on the ladle, blew, and gave it to Lucy to taste. The blond smiled and put two thumbs up.

"I told you that you could stay in _my _room, right? It's more ventilated in there," Gray suggested.

Lucy swallowed and looked away sheepishly, "You're a pervert, Gray…"

"I d-didn't mean it like that," he said, pinching her nose as lovingly as he always does, "I meant that we should switch rooms, idiot girlfriend of mine…"

"O-Oh…" she blushed and smiled sheepishly at him.

Gray's black eyes met with her dark brown ones and the two stared at each other in silence for a moment then the ice mage nervously lowered his face to hers in an attempt to kiss her.

"_Gah—!_" he exclaimed and immediately moved his arm away from the hot pot. He had accidentally stuck his elbow on it.

"Are you okay?!" Lucy asked, coming to his aid right away. She immediately put a damp cloth around his elbow, "You're really clumsy."

"L-Let's just eat…" he suggested, "We'll talk about your sleeping problems later."

* * *

Ten o'clock. Outside the house, it was all silent except for the crickets that were singing eerily. There was neither breeze nor rustle of the trees; just the crickets—in perfect harmony.

And because there was neither wind nor breeze, that night, Lucy found it really hard to sleep. At least the night before it was drizzling and it was cold. Tonight, it was very dry and hot and Lucy could not sleep at all. Her pillows and her nightgown stuck to her skin because of the sweat.

Lucy bit her lip, got up, grabbed her pillow and went out of the door into the dark kitchen. She easily passed it and the living room with little effort as she got on her tiptoes. She breathed deeply as she knocked on the only other room inside the house: Gray's room.

Not even knowing if he was awake or not, Lucy opened the door and peeked inside. She could hardly see as it was equally dark inside, except for the moonlight that entered through the window. She could, however, see the ice mage's silhouette sitting up and facing her direction.

"Gray?"

"What's wrong…?"

"Uhm…" she started, and then felt a bit embarrassed about herself, "It's not as bearable as I thought…"

* * *

It was so awkward that Gray couldn't move but only remain stiff as a statue in his own bed. Beside him, Lucy also lay awake and motionless, trying to get some shut-eye. The two stared at the ceiling of the dark room, apparently not talking to each other but exchanging deep breaths every now and then.

"Can you sleep?" Gray asked after a while, "Should I leave?"

"Should _I_?" asked Lucy and turned on her side to face him, "I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?" he simply turned his head to look at her face as it reflected the yellow light from outside, "Don't sweat it…"

"But I _am _sweating, though," she joked and laughed.

"Ha. Ha. Ha," Gray forced a sarcastic laugh, "Real funny."

"Shaddup…" Lucy said, slapping his chest lightly. She was aware that she does not tell very good jokes but for him to laugh at her like that was embarrassing.

Lucy then realized that her companion was not wearing a shirt and so her hand rested in his bare skin. She was able to touch the wound on Gray's chest that he had gotten more than a month ago. It had closed but it hadn't completely healed yet. The Stellar Spirit mage ran her fingers across it.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

"Not as much as it used to…" Gray said, smirking as he, too, turned on his side to face her.

"That's good," she said, "But I guess it'll leave a scar?"

"Most probably. But that's okay," he assured and pulled Lucy closer to him into a tight hug, "It'll remind you how much I'm willing to do for you."

"You're so corny it gives me goose bumps," she said but smiled and blushed anyway. She rested her head on his chest comfortably, "I love you."

"Never get tired of hearing that," Gray answered and pulled back to smile at her.

Despite the lack of light, Lucy could see him gently smiling at her. Lucy pulled his face closer and kissed him gently. The ice mage kissed her back.

All of a sudden, the soft, slow kiss became a fast and longing one. Gray pulled Lucy closer while the latter clung to his neck. One of Lucy's hands travelled to caress Gray's cheek, passing gently over his ears and making him break the kiss with a gasp. The hair on the back of Gray's neck stood on end and he smiled at her. She sheepishly smiled back and bit her lower lip.

Gray laid Lucy on her back as he moved on top of her, but was careful enough not to crush her with his weight. He could feel his heartbeat hasten; he could feel Lucy's as well. He examined her face. Her eyes held both fear and yearning, her lips quivered as they split into a toothy smile.

The blonde's hands moved to his cheeks and pulled his face closer and they kissed. It started slowly once more, and then gradually hastened pace as if each wanted to crush the other. Lucy could feel Gray's body heat reach her skin through the thin nightgown that she wore. Hands quivering, Lucy pulled Gray's pants belt off. As quickly as she did, the ice mage's left hand had successfully taken off her nightgown.

"_Ha_!" Lucy exclaimed in embarrassment, which made Gray stop. Tears fell from her eyes as she gasped for air.

"You okay?" he asked, wiping her tears for her as she seemed to be incapable to letting go of him.

"Yeah... G-Go on…" she whispered and rested her head on his shoulder.

Gray became silent for a while, trying to weigh out the situation. Then, he smirked and whispered in her ear, "Yes, ma'am."

Lucy shut her eyes tightly as she felt Gray moving again. Somehow, she was filled with bitter-sweet emotions of fear and excitement. The few novels she had read had told her that the first time was always going to be a bit scary, especially for the females. But that didn't matter anymore. She knew Gray was a gentle person to begin with. And she trusted him with all her heart. She knew he was _never _going to hurt her.

Gray pulled away, reached for the covers of his bed and wrapped it around Lucy who was not wearing anything at the moment. Then, he sat up, took his belt and buckled it around his waist.

Lucy opened her eyes and sat up behind Gray. What was happening? Why wasn't he doing anything? The girl flushed a deep shade of red and bit her lip.

"Gray…?" she started, "Aren't we—?"

The ice mage simply turned around to look at her, hug her and kiss her on the forehead.

"Not tonight, Lucy…" he smiled, and then fixed the cloth that covered her, "Not tonight."

"Are you mad at me…? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, "I'm sorry. I was just…"

"It's okay…" Gray assured her, "You didn't do anything."

"But then, why are you—?"

"It's _my _decision," he said, "I want to do it right… And by that, I mean, when we're _married_."

Lucy heaved a sigh. "Gray…"

"Go on and sleep here. I'll sleep in the living room."

Gray walked away and Lucy, drapes and all, ran after him and gave him a back hug. The ice mage held her hands tightly.

"Love you, Luce…"

She laughed and repeated the words he's said to her a while back, "Never get tired of hearing that…"

**-END'S END-**

* * *

**WRITER'S BLOCK (2): **Well, that was awkward. I had to battle against myself in writing this chapter, as I'm not used to writing scenes like these. Heck, I have trouble writing kiss scenes, how much more something like this?! But I guess it all ended well, didn't it?

Gray, you're such a good guy!

Thanks again for reading. **With this, 'Another Shot at Love' (ASAL) is completed. It has been wonderful entertaining you. Hope to entertain you guys more in the future. This is , signing off…**

_**For now… **_


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